Graveyard Shift
by HolmesHarleyWatson
Summary: When Charles Lee Ray awakens once more in his infamous doll form and escapes from his ex Tiffany, the last thing he expects is some strange chick offering him a ride...
1. Chapter 1

_Hi fellow Charles Lee Ray/Chucky fanatics! So, I guess you can thank my medication, but I have been having uber weird dreams lately and this idea was born! Like everything else I write, its AU timeline, AU EVERYTHING. I am also NOT a Tiffany/Chucky fan, so this of course is a Charles Lee Ray/Chucky paired with another of my OFC._

Chapter 1: Making A Break For It

As soon as he awoke, Charles knew that something was off as he stared momentarily at the dingy ceiling above his head; some distant part of his psyche painfully aware of the small plastic and rubber body that he was back in, as well as the fact that he was in a considerable amount of _pain _again. He groaned softly as fire arced across his face, chest, and hand and his fucking head _throbbed. _What fresh fucking Hell was this that he had woken into?

"….Come on Tiffany, don't you think you've kept me waiting long enough?" A whiny male voice asked.

_Tiffany? Fuck, I need to get the fuck out of here. The last thing I need is a run in with my Ex….._

"I'm not in the mood. I didn't exactly _invite _you over here Damian, so get the fuck out." Tiffany replied, shoving the obvious Marilyn Manson wannabe out of her room and passed Charles' position on the floor.

"Fine, whatever. Don't come crying to me later when you _do _decide you want a little action." Damian grumbled, slamming the door of the mobile home behind him.

_Little action seems like good terminology, asshole…. _Charles thought

"Fuck off…." She mumbled out loud, blowing out the remainder of the candles she had lit earlier in the failed voodoo ritual and stepping over Charles' doll form; still blissfully unaware that the spell had succeeded, albeit with delayed results….

Charles remained in what he jokingly referred to as "Barbie Mode" until she disappeared into her room and the bathroom beyond, pulling the curtained partition closed behind her. He struggled to sit up as another jolt of pain shot through his head; finally making it into an upright position as he heard water start to run in the bathtub. He crawled painstakingly over to Tiffany's sofa, where he was finally able to pull himself into a standing position slowly.

Charles looked around the semi-darkened room for a few minutes to get his bearings; sofa, table, kitchenette, door. He hobbled over to the kitchenette slowly in search of a knife (his weapon of choice when he was in this body; he couldn't exactly strangle anyone with hands the size of a goddamned toddler). There was only one drawer there, so it was a no-brainer as he reached up and pulled it open, grabbing the only large knife he saw and sliding it quietly shut again.

"What a fuckin' dump," He muttered as he took a last look around before heading out the door as silently as possible. His face and head were still killing him as he hobbled out the door and down the steps, hoping that Tiffany wouldn't miss him until he was far away from the trailer park; or at least as far as his small legs could carry him.

"Fuck my life," He hissed when he felt the first few drops of rain before it began to downright pour in earnest. Charles thought of taking shelter under one of the nearby porches or mobile homes, but thought against it when he heard the loud barking of what sounded like a large dog nearby; all he needed was to be mauled by someone's mutt on top of the pain that he was already in. True, he had the knife, but he liked dogs and he didn't want to gut one unless he had to.

Thirty minutes later, he _finally _had made it out of the Trailer Park and out onto what appeared to be a rural road lined with a thick cropping of trees on both sides. Leave it to his fucking ex to move to the sticks. Charles _hated _anyplace rural; first of all, there weren't enough potential victims, second of all; if you did kill anyone, you had the very real possibility that every hick within the city limits would know your victim was missing before the damned body hit rigor. Talk about a goddamned buzzkill.

He had been so lost in his own thoughts and so freezing in the downpour that by the time he realized that headlights had been approaching him from the rear, it was too late to even try hiding in the tree line and Barbie mode was a no-go in the middle of the road in case the asshole driving felt like taking a pot-shot and hitting him.

Charles sighed, wondering just how much more this evening could suck as to his surprise, the car slowed to a crawl beside him.

"Hey, do you need a lift?" A woman's voice called out the window. A young woman's voice.

_She can't be talking to me….. I mean, the fuck?_

He turned towards the car slowly, thinking that he had to be losing his fucking mind or she had fucking lost hers. He was tempted to turn around to see if she was talking to someone behind him, but he already knew that there was nobody out here besides the two of them. To his further surprise, she leaned across the passenger seat and opened the car door.

"Come on man, you look like you're going to freaking drown and I don't have all night." She pressed as he continued to stare at her for a moment before mentally shrugging and climbing in, the absurdity of a grown-ass woman giving a doll a ride in the rain making him feel like he had taken a hit off a bad blunt.

"Your parents ever tell you it's not safe to pick up hitchhikers?" He asked, unable to help himself as he slammed the door shut and she hit the gas again.

The girl let out a derisive snort and rolled her eyes before snatching a cigarette from a pack of smokes and lighting it with a flick from a zippo.

"Cig?" She offered, ignoring his question.

Charles didn't even hesitate before taking the pack and the zippo and lighting one with gusto, tiny toes curling as the first bit of nicotine hit his system.

"I'm Akishla by the way," She said as she reached into the back seat without taking her eyes off of the road and handed him a blanket to dry off with.

"Charles," He replied as he wrapped up in the blanket.

"Where are you headed?" She asked curiously as he took another drag.

"Didn't really have a destination in mind. I wasn't really expecting to get a ride," He replied, as though that much were obvious.

"You hungry?" She asked as she turned down a deserted side road with trees lining one side and a cemetery on the other.

"I dunno. To be honest, I'm in too much fuckin pain to tell," He replied, wincing as they drove over a pot-hole and the car bounced roughly.

"I can help you with that," She replied with a wink and a smile as she turned off the road and into the cemetery itself.


	2. Chapter 2: You live Where?

Graveyard Shift Chapter 2: You live….Where?

As soon as they turned in to the Cemetery Charles went on alert; wondering what this weird bitch was trying to pull.

"Any particular reason we're stopping here?" He asked her sardonically as he flicked his cigarette butt out her window, his hand now finding the hilt of the kitchen knife.

"Yeah, I live here. Look, I know it's weird but it's convenient for me and it's the only job I could find that suited my lifestyle. If you really want me to drop you off somewhere else though, I can do that tomorrow night; you should probably at least rest here at my place tonight though, you're bleeding." Akishla sighed as she wound her way to the middle of the older section of the Cemetery behind one of the mausoleums before parking at a coach house that looked like a tiny castle.

Charles wiped at the warm stickiness dribbling slowly down his cheek to his chin with his sleeve impatiently, wincing when the material of his shirt came into contact with one of the poorly stitched cuts.

Akishla stuffed her cigarettes and zippo into her sweater before climbing out of the car and coming around to the passenger side. She reached for Charles then gingerly, but he jerked away as though she were brandishing fire at him before doubling over as a sharp pain lanced through his side and stomach.

"Don't be so goddamned stubborn! Christ," She grumbled as she reached for him again carefully and scooped him and the blanket up in one go.

Charles let his eyes squeeze shut as he felt a wave of nausea wash over him and he slumped in her arms bonelessly as she carried him into the coach house, flicking lights on as she went.

_That stupid bitch did the spell wrong! She must've fucked up the words…._ Charles thought sluggishly as he fought to stay conscious. He didn't exactly know what Cemetery-Jane had up her sleeve either.

Akishla paused momentarily as she weighed her options. She definitely needed access to the bathroom and her medical kit; not to mention that the doll-man was looking pretty pale and was still bleeding slightly.

_And I just changed my damned sheets too…_

She felt him begin to shiver uncontrollably as she placed him on her bed.

"Hey, stay awake. Tell me something about yourself or something, just keep talking. I think you're going into shock Charles," She told him as she brought her medical kit out of her closet and began filling the sink with hot water.

"I think your f-f-f-fucking nuts. W-what are you living in a c-c-cemetery for?" He stuttered as he felt himself shake more intensely. What in the literal fuck? He hadn't felt this shitty since the night he croaked back in '88…

"I assist the mortician here and I keep an eye out for trespassers. It's a night job, which is something I need, as well as access to the crematorium on a regular basis." She explained, laying out some bandages, antiseptic, and clean towels on the bed next to him. Akishla was weighing her options for pain meds; but if he was capable of bleeding…..

Then she should be able to give him injections; like a human.

"Have you ever been given morphine?" She asked as she pulled a packaged hypodermic from her kit and a small vial.

"S-sure. They gave it to me when I b-broke my arm years ago," He replied slowly, wincing when she pulled the blanket away and the cool air hit him.

"Okay, I'm going to give you a dose that would normally be given to a child of your height and weight to start. Then we need to get these soaking wet clothes off of you and see where you're losing blood at, looks like you have a wound somewhere on your midsection." She said, reaching for the button to undo the absurd overalls he wore. My Buddy Dolls were hilarious to her for some reason. Or at least they were until they began talking to you in the gruff voice of a man and bleeding all over your bed.

"Don't even fuckin think about it," He hissed, pulling the knife in an attempt to keep her away from him; not that he had much strength to wield it even if he needed to defend himself at this point.

Akishla snorted derisively for the second time that night as he brandished the knife at her threateningly.

"Bruh, if only killing me were that simple. Just relax okay? You don't have anything that I haven't seen before by the morgue-full." She quipped as he began a futile effort to attempt to crawl out of her reach only to collapse halfway.

"Are you done?" She asked, arms folded.

"Fuck…." He sighed, half pissed off and half humiliated.

"Look, let me undo the overalls and help you get your shirt off, then you can cover up with the comforter and wiggle out of the rest of your clothes once the morphine has kicked in okay? I really don't need you to sit here and bleed to death because you're scared that I'll see your junk." Akishla huffed sarcastically; I mean, seriously….. Men and their goddamn pride.

Despite the fact that he was irritated with this weird broad, he also kinda liked her already. She wasn't like the other bitches he had had to deal with in his life; she was more like a dude if anything.

"Fine." He growled, laying back as she unbuttoned the stupid fucking overalls and helped him pull off the rainbow striped shirt; both of which were soaked with blood.

Akishla swabbed his upper arm with alcohol and carefully injected the morphine slowly, watching him visibly relax under its effect.

"What blood type are you Charles?" She asked absently as she began assessing the damage to his torso. Whoever had sewn him up like this may as well have been Helen-fucking-Keller the job had been done so poorly; there were actual office staples crisscrossing the thread at intervals.

"I don't know," He admitted, sounding sleepy already.

Akishla looked at him hesitantly for a moment; trying to assess exactly how far under he was as she leaned forward and gently laved her tongue across the wound on his chest.

_AB Negative….. _

"Well, you're in luck. I just happen to have some of that on tap." She sighed as she gently cleansed his torso with hot water and antiseptic before beginning to apply surgical dressing over his chest and abdomen.

Charles began to laugh richly as his brain slowly registered what she had done to him.

"Did you just _lick me?"_ He slurred, giggling again.

_God he was flying…_

_He hadn't been high like this in forever._

_It felt so fucking good….._

"Yes I did, I had to figure out what blood type you are. I can see some veins and I think I can hook you up for a blood transfusion; you're going to need it, your white as a sheet and you're pretty cold. I need to get you out of these clothes Charles, before you become hypothermic." She replied, noting that he wasn't stopping her this time as she reached for the comforter and pulled it back.

His head lulled on the pillow and his eyes slid shut as she tugged the rest of the clothing off of his 36 inch frame and replaced the comforter across his body, tucking it around him tightly. She would definitely need to wash his clothes and would need to search online for more in his size; nobody in their right fucking mind would want to spend the rest of their lives in this shit. Akishla pulled an electric heater from her closet and plugged it in, turning it on high and placing it as near to the bed as she could without setting her freaking house on fire.

She checked his pulse one more time with her keen hearing before she headed out of the room and back down the stairs; he was drugged enough that he would keep for a few minutes while she got the blood he needed from the refrigerated room in her basement.

Being an Upir in this day and age was much simpler than it had been decades prior; she had fucking loathed the 80's with her whole being as she had spent most of those ten years in sewers, abandoned buildings, and rat infested factories and warehouses. Taking over Beecher Glen Cemetery and Mausoleum had been a literal life-changer for her (after-life changer?) and she hadn't looked back since.

Akishla had been a med student once upon a time; the only female in her graduating class before she had begun her residency and all Hell had broken loose in her personal life when she had lost her Father in a mining accident and had decided to commit suicide. If only she had believed the superstitious chatter among her clan _before _she had taken her life and been damned to this one.

The dim lighting blinked to life automatically when she pushed the doors open and stepped into the modified room that had become a walk-in cooler. Bags upon bags of blood hung in neat little rows like macabre versions of assorted flavors of Capri Sun just waiting to be yanked down and drunk. Akishla had once wondered if she had a touch of OCD as she organized blood by type, donor age, and race; rotating it faithfully by oldest to newest, but she had since dismissed the thought. People kept their refrigerators and cabinets sorted and organized, didn't they? If you asked most people, they would probably shrug and tell you that blood was blood and it probably all tasted the same; but that just wasn't true at all. O Positive blood from a ten year old male tasted entirely different than A Negative from a thirty-nine year old female; not to mention that the stamina and energy she received from either of them was completely different as well.

She sorted through the AB Negative until she found the youngest donor and newest donation she had in stock before carefully unhooking the bag and carrying it back upstairs with her.

Charles was still out cold when she returned to her bedroom and his pulse had slowed a bit more than she would have liked as she got to work; inserting a PIC line into each of his arms, (one for the transfusion and one for IV fluids to keep him hydrated, hoping to shit that his veins wouldn't collapse due to dehydration and blood loss) She hung the blood and fluid bags the best that she could on her four poster bed and watched dutifully throughout the night as he rested in a drug-induced haze; sleep claiming her only as the dawn approached.


	3. Chapter 3: Revelations and Complications

Chapter 3: Revelations and Complications

Akishla had always been a light sleeper and an insomniac, even when she had been alive and human; so when she heard a low groan from Charles, she stirred instantly from her place on the recliner and winced when she saw his face was slightly swollen and contused around the bang-up stitch job.

"Hey," She said roughly, voice scratchy from sleep.

Charles squinted his eyes open and turned his head in her direction, grateful when he saw that there was no fucking sunlight pouring into the room to make his pounding head feel any worse. He blinked his eyes several times before finally focusing on her properly in the soft lamp light of her bedroom for the first time; taking in the sight of her bright indigo hair, pale skin, and unusual violet eyes before thinking that she looked like she should live in a cemetery. Then as he shifted slightly in the bed, he realized that he was naked beneath the thick comforter and quilt covering him.

"God, you just couldn't resist taking a peek after all huh?" He asked sardonically as he attempted to sit up.

"You know it…..hang on, lemme help you." She replied, rolling her eyes as she stepped forward and helped him sit up, adjusting the pillows behind him to brace him up more comfortably.

"Yeah, I bet the temptation was just too much to resist." He gritted as he attempted to get comfortable.

"I'm going to give you something for the pain again, but it won't knock you out completely like the morphine did. I want you to eat something and then I'll check your injuries again and see if you need another round of blood," She explained as she brought over his freshly laundered Good Guy outfit and laid it beside him on the nightstand.

"I washed these last night, but I ordered some other clothes your size on Amazon and had them rush shipped, so they should be here by 8pm the latest. What do you want to eat? Any allergies or am I not supposed to feed you after a certain time at night or what?" She joked, trying to break up an unusual tension that had settled in the room suddenly. What the shit was that about?

"I'm not a pet," He grumbled, but sighed when he thought over what else she had said.

"Why are you so fuckin nice anyways? What do you want from me?" He asked as he yanked the god awful rainbow colored Good Guys shirt towards him with difficulty.

"Nothing. There's nothing you could give me anyways, I guess I'm just trying to help out; one freak to another." Akishla shrugged, handing him two pills and a bottled water.

"What's so freaky about you? Other than the hair and the cemetery shit," He asked, not taking the pills quite yet.

"Hey! The fuck is wrong with my hair? Blue is better than bright-ass neon auburn, Ginger Man," She replied, hands on her hips.

Charles snorted, he guessed she had him there….

"That still don't answer my question," He pressed, placing the pills on the nightstand and downing half the water in one go.

"You're a guy possessing a doll and you want to know what's weird about me? What the hell happened to you?" Akishla countered defensively; she liked her hair goddamn it.

"I asked you first," He argued, to which the blue-haired Upir began to chuckle. This guy….

"I guess if I had to explain it in American terms…. I'm kind of a Vampire," She replied awkwardly, to which the Man Doll rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Oh Geeze, you aren't one of those Goth bitches that has a Vampire fetish and tries to actually live like one, are you?" He asked, thinking about Tiffany again.

"No dumb ass, I'm the real deal. That blood that saved your ass last night was from my fridge, and you're welcome." She said irritated suddenly that he didn't believe her; I mean, shit happened in life didn't it? He was stuck in doll after all….

"You're a Vampire? No freakin' way!" He laughed, trying to imagine her sleeping in a coffin or hanging upside down like a bat.

Akishla rolled her eyes; so much for honesty. Maybe she should have just kept her fucking mouth shut…

"Alright Happy, I still need to get food in you and check out your vitals and shit. Take the pills, it'll get the swelling down in your face and help with the pain." She said grudgingly, sounding miffed.

"Are you a Doctor or some shit? Come on Blue, what is all of this? It's kind of hard to figure you out." Charles said curiously.

"I was a med student before I died. Look, either take the pills or don't; I'm going to go make something to eat and see if Amazon delivered yet. Do you want me to cap those PIC lines off?" She asked, nodding towards his arms.

"Yeah, that would help." He said gruffly, realizing he had been acting like an asshole and this weird chick was only trying to help.

"I can actually take out the one that I used for the transfusion last night, but I want to leave the other one in for now, just in case." She explained, washing her hands and then coming back towards him with her med kit.

Charles popped the two pills and downed the rest of the water, laying back against the pillows and watching her as she worked. She slowly flushed the IV she used for the transfusion with saline before carefully taking it out and applying a small amount of pressure with a wad of gauze. He studied her from his peripheral in an attempt to not stare at her outright, but he had to admit that she wasn't too hard on the eyes.

"What kind of medicine were you studying?" He asked suddenly as she bandaged his arm and capped his other line so he could a move a bit freer. Blue definitely knew what she was doing; he hadn't felt a damned thing and normally he hated needles. Charles had smoked plenty of joints and popped plenty of pills in his lifetime, but he could never fuck with heroine.

"I was doing my residency in the burn ward, I had wanted to specialize in skin graphing and surgical care, but then I died and I quit." She replied with a shrug.

"How'd you die?" He asked softly, watching her flinch at the question.

"Blood loss," She said vaguely, as though the subject was closed.

"When you were bitten?" He pressed, eyes widening when she chortled humorlessly at his assumption.

"I wasn't bitten. That's not how this happened to me; nobody changed me or anything like that. You're thinking about Vampires exclusively and what I am is just….. Like a Vampire, but different." She said as she returned her kit to her closet.

"Okay, so how did it happen? What's the big secret?" Charles asked lightly, not comprehending why most people were so sensitive about death; he had been gunned down by an asshole detective and you didn't see him crying about it. Not to mention the list of mutherfuckers he had sent to Hell himself.

"Look, I took a scalpel to my wrists, Okay? Satisfied?" She asked, yanking up her sleeves and showing him the thick scarring on both of her wrists shakily before dropping her arms to her sides and flitting from the room and down the steps; not caring that she was using some of her powers in front of the rude and ungrateful little bastard as she slammed the kitchen door open and stalked her way to the fridge in search of food for him.

Charles jerked in shock when Blue had up and disappeared on him in the blink of an eye, before shrugging and trying to find the motivation to get dressed. So, he guessed she wasn't bullshitting him completely, but now he had a shit load of other questions.

His interest in the occult and the supernatural had begun at a very early age and had only progressed further the older he became; so it was only natural that she peaked his interest and curiosity. He knew that vampiric beings existed, but he had never seen one, let alone met one.

_Guess there's a first for everything…._

Akishla had just gotten the chicken breast in the pan with the herbs and sauce when she heard the doorbell ring; Amazon…..

She jogged to the door and flung it open, sighing in relief when she saw that it was already passed dusk. Sunlight fucked with her eyes.

"Akishla Rainieri?" The delivery guy asked with a bright smile as he looked her up and down. _Good grief._

"That's me," She sighed, reaching for the electronic signature pad.

"Great; I got three for you this time. So, you work here?" He asked, making her roll her eyes as she handed the pad back.

"Yes," She replied, taking the two boxes and bubble envelope from him and kicking the door closed in his face without looking back.

Akishla ripped the tape off of the boxes with ease; seeing an assortment of dark blue and black jeans, long sleeve flannels, and black t-shirts. For some reason, he had just struck her as more of a dark colors guy.

She looked in on the chicken, adjusted the flame, and flitted up to her room; steeling herself for more asinine comments or sarcasm.

"Charles? You decent?" She asked awkwardly; when she wasn't dealing with customers, she was severely lacking in people skills.

"I'm never decent, but I got my bits covered," He replied, making her laugh. How could this fucker be annoying and funny at the same time? Or maybe she was just lacking patience…..

"Your clothes came, I just got a few things to start out with. They should fit though; at least you won't be stuck looking so Fisher Price," She shrugged as she set the boxes down at the foot of her bed.

"Yeah, uh….. thanks. You didn't have to do that," He said as equally awkward as her by way of unspoken apology.

"It's fine. Listen, I have food on the stove, and I have to check my Bosses voicemail but make yourself at home. Just don't get your bandages or your stitches wet if you go to wash up; shout if you need help." She said, flitting her way back to the kitchen and adding the fettuccini to the pot of water that was boiling.

Akishla logged into the admin portal of the Beecher Glen website and began the arduous process of listening to voicemails on her bosses phone.

"Hello, this is Violet Delany calling about my Husband's plot. We finally decided on the black granite headstone, number 42753 in the catalogue. Please give me a call at your earliest 551-218-7240, thank you."

"Hello, this is Mark Kramer. I wanted to talk to someone about interring my Mother's ashes. Gimme a call 201-571-4489, thanks"

"Heya Mort, this is George. Wanted to see if you were going to be free this Sunday for tee off and lunch. Call me."

"_End of new messages, to return to the main menu-_"

She hung up and dialed her boss, putting the call on speaker as she moved around the kitchen getting out plates for them.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite employee. How's the graveyard shift going?" He joked as Charles limped into the kitchen slowly in the black jeans and t-shirt she had bought him.

"Ha-ha. I'm your only employee, Mort." She replied with a shake of her head.

"Even more reason to like you even better! Did you hear about the rollover on 213? Coroner just called me, we're gonna be getting five teenagers in the next two days. Between you and me, I think that you'll have at least two for the crematory; driver and the passenger went airborne on their out of the wind shield." He told her nonchalantly, as though they were discussing a road trip.

"Okay, I can fire her up tonight that way she'll be nice and hot for our guests by tomorrow morning. Delany finally picked out a headstone, we got a Mark Kramer for interring ashes, and George wants a play date on Sunday," She rattled off from memory, relieved that there weren't too many messages.

"Sounds good, I locked up on the way out as usual; but you wanna be careful driving around section C,D, and F. The damned construction crew finally finished jackhammering out the rest of the road, but it's a mess. I can't wait until they're done repaving, I'm kinda worried about you getting a flat." Mort said with concern.

"Oh my gosh, I'll be fine. I just had new tires put on Bessie anyways; beside the fact that I know how to change a flat! I'm not one of those girlie-girls Mort," She scoffed, shutting off the stove and straining the noodles as Charles gingerly set himself in a chair, trying to be as quiet as possible while pain seared across his chest and stomach. The pills were kicking in slower than he had hoped.

"I know, but I still worry about you there all by yourself, I wish that you would let me hire someone else to watch your back," He said for what felt like the millionth time in their long tenure working together. Mort knew what she was to an extent, but he still saw the fragility of what used to be her human body.

"Well, I have a friend staying over with me for right now, so I'm not completely on my own for a change," She said to Charles' astonishment.

"Good! Tell her that she's hired,"

"Him. And I don't know how long he plans on staying, so hold the 401K and retirement package. Geeze, you're about as subtle as a grenade," Akishla chortled as she set a plate of chicken and fettuccini alfredo in front of him.

Charles dug in with gusto, not realizing exactly how starved he was until food was put down in front of him.

"Is he… special? Like you?" Mort asked, not wanting to hurt her feelings by saying anything too brash.

"He's special alright," She drawled, earning The Bird from her new Ginger companion.

"But a different kind of special than me… I think," She answered slowly, not exactly sure what Charles was. He was a hell of a lot more than a possessed doll, that much was obvious.

"Well there's no harm in having some extra company, Akishla. I'd normally say that life is short, but in our cases, life is long and that makes companionship even more necessary." Mort said soberly; sounding like the Father that he was always trying to be for her.

"Yeah, I know. I'll keep you posted, okay? Geeze!" She exclaimed, setting her own plate down none too gently.

"Good. I'll talk to you tomorrow; be safe." He said, hanging up to give her a break.

"Ooof. That was my not-so-subtle Boss come Father figure Mort. Mort the Mortician; he really gets a kick out of his own name," She snorted as he continued to eat.

"Pepsi?" She offered as she snatched a bag of blood from the fridge that was sitting on the top shelf with the soft drinks and the milk like a pouch of fucking apple juice.

"Damn, yeah that'd be great! I haven't had pop in forever," Charles said as he relished the taste of the food. He wasn't sure if it was because he hadn't eaten in a couple of decades or if it was Blue's cooking, but the fucking food was phenomenal.

"I guess you like alfredo. Do you mind if I…?" She asked, holding up the bag of blood in her hand.

"Go ahead," He shrugged; Charles Lee Ray was a lot of things, but squeamish he was not. You couldn't really be a serial killer and balk at the sight of blood…. Or see a sexy goth vampire chick that saved your ass and balk at the sight of her drinking it.

"This is hands down, the best thing that I've ever eaten by the way. You could've easily been a chef instead of a doctor." He complimented, enjoying the sight of her blush as she poked a metal straw through the top of the bag of O Negative and took a long sip with a sigh.

"Thanks, I really enjoy cooking. I don't get any real sustenance from eating, but I still enjoy the flavors and smells." She shrugged in return, glad that he wasn't too grossed out by her. Or at least, he didn't appear to be.

"So….. Mort seems like a cool guy, what's his deal?" He asked curiously.

"Mort is awesome, you'll probably get along with him really well. He's owned and operated this place for about a century, give or take a decade here or there. Mort is just….. kind of stuck being alive, for lack of a better term. I guess that you could call it cursed. When he was in his late twenties, he and a friend were out drinking and gambling until dawn, but on the way home they decided to have a carriage race to see who could make it to the pass faster and he accidentally struck and killed a boy. He was sorry for it of course, brought the boy to a doctor and spared no expense in trying to save him; Mort was very well off, even back then. His Father had struck oil in the south, and he was used to a life of spoiled luxury so that by the time he was nineteen, he had come into his own wealth and did what any young man was supposed to do back then; marry and raise a family. Mort had a ten-year-old daughter by the time he was twenty-nine when the accident happened, and she was the love of his life. There was nothing that Mort wouldn't do for that girl. He was devastated by the accident; went to the Boy's mother on hands and knees in apology, paid the boys last medical bills and paid for the funeral, he even paid off the woman's farm as an act of contrition but to the woman it wasn't enough. She wanted vengeance and she wanted blood for blood, and she would have that and nothing more. I told Mort that I think that she was a witch of some kind; its really the only explanation that fits. Shortly after the accident, his daughter Abbey got sick and the doctor's weren't sure of what was wrong. Back then they called it a wasting disease, but I think that maybe it was cancer of some kind; the way he describes it to me when he gets drunk. The poor girl was in agony every single day after that until she finally died when she was twenty-two. A few years after Abbey died, Mort's son Braydon went, then his son Sheridan, and finally his youngest daughter Agatha. By the time his wife was on her death bed, she had locked herself away with a priest and a handful of Nuns, claiming that Mort was the Devil himself. Mort wasn't aging, you see; not a day past twenty-nine when he was already a man of nearly sixty by rights and his entire family had died around him. People in the town were terrified of him and had even tried to set his house on fire with him inside of it; by then he figured that it was time to move and start over. He couldn't just leave his wife and children buried on his land and abandon them, so he bought this place and moved them here. He still lays flowers on Abbey and Agatha's graves each week and he's the most cautious driver you've ever seen, like a little seventy-year-old woman. He's still not a day passed twenty-nine though, even now. To be honest with you though, he's the nicest fucker you'll ever meet, and he understands special circumstances because he's had so many of his own. He knows what I am, partially because I'm not aging either, and he helped me build the walk-in cooler downstairs. He knows why I need access to the crematory sometimes when it's not work related. He's protective of me… like a Father," She explained, starting in on her own food once she was finished with the blood.

"Wow….. and I thought my life was fucked up." He reflected, as he shifted around in his seat and winced again.

"Still in pain?" She asked knowingly as she took her plate to the trash and then to the sink, she wasn't really in the mood to stuff herself.

"You know it, Blue. I feel like I got hit by a fucking bus," He griped, leaning back in the chair painfully.

"Really? Why are you calling me Blue?" She asked, wondering if he was purposely trying to get on her nerves.

"Its just a nickname… I like giving people nicknames." He replied as his eyes squeezed shut and he grit his teeth, waiting for the pain in his face, head, chest, and stomach to subside.

"Alright, morphine time again. Lets get you back upstairs," She said, approaching him determinedly. She was already prepared for his protest of her manhandling him up the stairs again.

"I can walk, just gimme a minute." He argued as she crouched in front of him with a sigh.

"Come on Chuck don't make this harder than it has to be. If you pass out from the pain your in while your trying to climb the steps and bust those piss-poor stitches open, you're going to be in a bigger world of pain than you think you are now. So, cut the stubborn macho man act and let me help you. I won't tell anyone that you let me be nice to you, I swear. I can even knee you in the nuts once your health improves if it makes you feel any better about yourself." She quipped, making him laugh softly before hissing in pain again; trying not to double over, because that'd just hurt even worse. He suddenly imagined stabbing Tiffany in the gut and twisting the blade slowly; useless cunt couldn't even bring him back the right way without almost bleeding him to death.

"Okay," He sighed, reaching out and clinging to her shirt uneasily as she lifted him carefully in her arms. He wasn't used to being carried like a damned miniature poodle, and the thought of her dropping him and the pain of the impact was suddenly giving him anxiety. He had spent the better part of his own failed resurrection attempts in severe pain from one injury or another; he had been shot, burned in a fireplace, hit with blunt objects, and had his legs cut off in factory machinery. If there was anything that he didn't want anymore of, it was fucking pain.

"I'm not going to drop you, so take it easy." She soothed, running a hand down his back unconsciously in an attempt to comfort him.

Charles' grip eased slightly as they made it back to her room and she carefully laid him back on the bed and pulled his shirt up slightly to check the surgical dressings; which were soaked through.

"I need to change these and make sure that you didn't tear anything earlier. You should've just waited for me to bring the food up to you, I think your happy jaunt down to the kitchen did more damage than good," Akishla sighed, grabbing her med kit out of the closet again.

"I'm going to give you some more Morphine, okay?" She asked and he nodded as she unwrapped a new hypodermic and took out a small vial to fill it with.

"I hope I don't use all of your stash," He said, looking away when she injected him. He hated needles….

"I can get more," She shrugged, waiting for the morphine to kick in before she started removing the dressing from his chest and stomach.

"You wouldn't want to help me….. if you knew who I was. You'd kill me," He said, struggling to reach the surface of his exhaustion. He was flying again… if only he could focus on exactly where her voice was coming from.

"I know who you are," She replied, leaning closer to his ear; his human soul had taken possession of the doll rapidly this time around; which is why she needed to proceed with caution and heal him as quick as she possibly could. There was only one way she knew of…. One thing that would work.

Whatever the inexperienced woman had done, whatever she had chanted over him by mistake, had caused an irreversible chain reaction. She hadn't only awoken him within the doll to call him back into being on this plain; she had _bound his soul to the doll this time._ There were two forces at work and grappling with one another for dominance; one was the nature of the spell that bound him to the doll now, and the other was his own powerful desire to be human again and gain control of some kind of human body… any kind of human body; and the magic at work had misunderstood those intentions, making the doll body (which should have only been a vessel for his soul and essence) in fact _human._

As Akishla used her own special abilities to confirm those suspicions, her shoulders slumped as she realized what she needed to do if he was going to survive. If the incantation had been recited correctly in the first place, then sewing him together this shoddily would have been fine; because the doll was meant to be a vessel under those circumstances and wouldn't have developed the type of massive internal injuries that he was now beginning to suffer from the more the doll body became a human body for all intents and purposes. As she closed her eyes and urged her second sight outwards and into his body, she caught glimpses of things that shouldn't be there at all in such complexity; nerve endings, tissue, organs, blood, bone, cellular growth and all of it was happening at a very rapid pace.

"Chuck, you're fucked." She sighed softly, which made him giggle eventually in his drugged haze.

"I've always….._always _been fucked, Blue." He muttered with so much certainty in his voice that she felt for him.

She had always felt that way about her own circumstances too.

Upir venom was a very handy substance to have on hand, especially when someone needed to reverse death or even avoid it altogether; but using it carried consequences and those consequences were different to each individual that used it.

The pearlescent, nectar-like substance in the next vial she pulled from her med kit shimmered and glowed ethereally with an internal light; like liquified Opals in sunlight. She was always momentarily struck by its beauty each and every time she saw it, reflecting that there was something to be said about inner beauty after all with this coursing its way through her veins.

Akishla uncapped his PIC line and flushed it, clearing the way for the life-saving Venom to follow. She attached a new bag of fluid to his line before loading a large hypodermic with the pearlescent substance and injecting it into the line slowly.

She knew that the Venom combined with the Morphine was going to give him a big enough high to keep him out for a day at least as it worked its way through his body and healed the internal damage that would have otherwise eventually killed him; which was good, because she had no idea what she was going to say to him when he awoke.

"Hi Chuck, you're kind of stuck as a three-foot-tall doll-human-upir hybrid thingy. Enjoy Bro! This shit _is _going to be forever after all," She scoffed quietly as she re-packed her med kit and covered him back up with the comforter and quilt, just leaving the damned shirt off for the time being.

He might try to kill her for what she had done to him when he found out.

_Well, good luck with that. I've been trying off and on for years….._

So many times and in so many ways that she had lost fucking count, thank you very much.

To top it all, the alarm on her phone began to ring it's blaring infernal little noise; telling her that it was time to begin security patrol around the cemetery. Because when life got complicated, it just bent you over, kicked you in the twat and got even more funtastic.

"Fuck me…." She sighed, flitting down to the living room and grabbing her car keys from the coffee table.


	4. Chapter 4: Mistakes and Consequences

Chapter 4:

Akishla's first stop was the crematory; firing up the high-tech machinery to make sure it reached optimal heat by the morning for their new arrivals; her movements methodical and practiced as she went about the small room, double checking that all of the equipment and instruments were in order.

That's when the beams of two flashlights caught her eye in the distance from the window.

_Intruder alert! Danger Will Robinson! _She thought with a snort, sighing loudly as she locked the crematory back up and got back in her car. Speaking of fuck-faced little teenagers, that's probably what she had on her hands now.

"Work at a cemetery they said, it'll be fun they said." She muttered, cranking Rob Zombie as far as her car stereo would go as she hit the gas and sped off in the direction of Shady Glen; the section of Beecher Glen that was reserved for the graves of fallen officers and firefighters.

_Hell on earth_

_For what it's worth_

_Dead on dreaming _

_You started screaming_

_The wizard of how_

_The king of the now_

_Cry like a banshee_

_And cry like you want me…._

_Violator!_

_Desecrator!_

_Turn around and meet the hater….._

Since C and D section's roads were fucked anyhow for the time being, Akishla floored it as she sped over them; catching sight of another flashlight beam followed by two cell phone flashlights.

"Five! Five little dumb fucks! Ah, ah, ah!" She said aloud in her best Count voice from Sesame Street as she rounded another corner and slammed on her brakes, screeching to a halt a good ten yards ahead of them.

Akishla shook a Marlboro Ultra-Light from her pack and lit it before grabbing the Louisville slugger she kept in her back seat; prepared to scare these little fuckers off before they started spraying tombstones with graffiti or beheading stone angels with bats of their own.

God, she hated children….

"Hey! You have thirty seconds to get the fuck outta here before I start making your little lives a miserable shit show! What is this? Date night for you little bitches and olive garden was booked?" She shouted, brandishing the metal bat in her hand and glaring when the apparent leader of the helmet-squad began to laugh at her.

"Oh geeze guys, look! It's this tiny little fairy-goth! The fuck? Somebody call The Addams, I think they're short a member," He guffawed, his other little disciples chittering little laughs at his joke.

_If only you little fucks could've been the ones caught up in that rollover on 213…._

There was only one girl in the group of four guys and she looked like she was six sheets to the wind and terrified. Akishla had an inkling of exactly the sort of plans the four jocks had with her too by the looks of it and she was glad that she had interrupted them.

Back in the car, _Living Dead Girl _began to blare as she moved forward; knowing that four was too many not to use her powers to some extent, and she would need to help the girl….

"Hey Brad, she's kinda cute….." One of them said, having the audacity to approach her and run a finger down her cheek.

Akishla took one more long drag of her cigarette before moving like lightning; dying the cigarette out in his eye and smashing the bat between his legs.

He barely had time to hit the ground before she rounded on 'Brad', the leader of the pack, catching him in the gut hard as she used the bat like a spear; then following up with a whack across the back of his knees.

Number three caught her from behind while the fourth punched her in the face before she used number three's hold on her for leverage and kicked out; catching number four across the jaw and knocking him out cold.

"What the fuck is your problem you little bitch?" Three huffed in her ear, the beer on his breath nearly making her gag.

"My Oxygen; you're breathing it." She growled; hitting him in the face with the back of her head and relishing the sound of his nose breaking, the delicious coppery tang of his blood lighting up the night. The smell of it sang to her and she couldn't resist as she whipped around and bit into his throat, the sweetness of the flavor bursting on her tongue as she drank her fill of him; not killing him, but not leaving him conscious either.

Akishla dropped him from her grasp and looked around at the carnage of the four young men at her feet with a smile before turning to the girl, who was now huddled up against a tree and crying her eyes out.

"I asked Brad to take me home, but he wouldn't! They were all just laughing, saying they were gonna take turns…" She sobbed before throwing herself into the Upir's arms, barely able to stand on her own between the effects of alcohol and shock.

She patted the girl awkwardly, wishing that she would just let her go.

Akishla really didn't do hugs with random people.

Hell, she barely did hugs with people she knew.

"Lets call your parents, okay?" She asked holding the girl at arm's length until she composed herself a little more.

Brad began to come to as the girl searched for her phone in the grass, making Akishla wander over and kick him in the face as nonchalantly as she could. She didn't need the girl panicking because the douchebag was waking up.

She ended up finding her phone only after nearly stepping on it in the dark; even armed with one of the turds' flashlights, her eyes were nearly swollen shut from crying.

Akishla had dialed Mort as soon as she hung up with the cops to report what had happened, and by the time sirens could be heard cresting the hill that lead to the cemetery from the west end, Mort was already running towards her from his own car; his face taught with worry.

"I'm fine! It's Lexi here that's a bit shaken up," She said, gesturing to the would-be victim of the still unconscious jocks littering the ground.

"Your nose is bleeding, and your left eye is swollen! Did one of these bastards hit you?" Mort hissed, advancing on the scattered lumps on the ground with murder in his eyes.

Akishla grabbed his arm and halted him in his tracks as the first pair of officers approached, effectively cutting him off with a look.

"Evening Miss, do you require medical attention?" One of them asked her, spotting her bloody nose too.

"No, I'm fine. This is Lexi Thompson, she's the girl that the boys brought here by force. She's going to need a ride home; her folks have been called." Akishla replied, wiping the blood off of her face with her sleeve.

"I'm Mortimer Beecher, the owner of this cemetery; I want to press charges on these scumbags!" Mort exclaimed vehemently as he placed an arm around her paternally and the officers nodded sympathetically as some of them began to try to sort the boys out.

"Come on, get your ass off the ground!" One of them had jerked brad up by the hair of his head roughly after cuffing him and Akishla fought the urge to laugh as he stumbled to his feet.

"What are you cuffing me for?! That crazy bitch is the one who should get locked up! Look what she did to us? Look at Chad's fucking face!" He slurred (she was pretty sure that the asshole had gotten concussed on his way down)

Brad and Chad. Welcome to typical suburbia.

"You son of a bitch!" Mort lunged forward and caught Brad with a resounding right cross that made his body swing a 180 before he hit the ground again and Mort began kicking him in the stomach.

"Mort stop!" Akishla shouted, moving towards him, but one of the officers laid a hand on her forearm gently, but firmly.

"I need your statement Miss, if you could just follow me to the car. It's a lot warmer in there," He said with a kind smile.

She looked around at the other cops, who stood around with their arms crossed as Mort went to town on the guys on the ground; he was actually beginning to alternate who he was kicking at this point, and the cop who had cuffed Brad was actually lighting a smoke indifferently.

"But shouldn't we—

"Hey, I don't see anything. Do you?" He asked with a shrug.

"So, how does a nice girl like you end up patrolling a cemetery at night?" He asked, taking out a notebook to scribble her responses.

Akishla and Mort had had a solid back story going for years now, and she stuck to it like glue whenever explanations were needed.

"Mort is my uncle and the cemetery has been in our family for generations now. I've had bad insomnia since my parents died a few years ago in a car accident, so I always take the patrol at night. It's usually pretty routine and uneventful; I went to turn on the crematory before my rounds because of those kids that died in the rollover on 213. You know, I wanted everything prepared for their remains. That's when I saw flashlights…..

Oh, Akishla could lay it on thick when she needed to. You know, thank goodness for those self defense classes she took on weekends and she was so glad that she had stopped them in time! (Which was kind of true) and she hoped poor Lexi was going to be okay! She sniffled in all the right places and shook her head, shrugging her tiny shoulders as she asked the officer what the world was coming to.

By the time he had finished jotting her statement down, he had draped his jacket over her small frame and shared his thermos of coffee with her, telling her how impressed he was with her bravery. Four big and tall teenage football players were no small feat for such a delicate and petite little lady like herself after all….

When the Police had pulled off with the four half-dead jocks and the scared girl they had nearly violated, her shoulders sagged with exhaustion as Mort drove her back to her house; they could worry about her car later. She wasn't sure what had exhausted her more; the fight or keeping up the pretense of the poor little victim.

"Where the hell was your friend? He should've patrolled with you!" Mort exclaimed, still taking sidelong glances at her swollen face as he drove.

"Chuck is out of commission right now. He had surgery recently and that's why he's staying with me…. It's kind of a long story to be honest, Mort. Between you and me, I had to use my venom to heal him… he would've bled out otherwise," Akishla suddenly shuddered violently, avoiding Mort's eyes as tears flowed from her own.

"What's wrong? What the hell did I say?" Mort asked suddenly, he had rarely seen her emotional in their long friendship.

"Nothing, it's just….. I don't even know why I did it! To make somebody be like me, to live this life when he might not even want it! He wants to be human again and I just damned him to eternity as a fucking human-doll-Upir hybrid! He's just going to fucking hate me as soon as he opens his eyes tomorrow! I don't even know how I'm going to tell him or what I'm going to say." She said in a rush, relieved to just speak all of it out loud and knowing that Mort was the only person who would ever understand what she was going through; other than a fellow Upir, but she tended to avoid her own kind….

Mort frowned at her and then sighed.

"Sounds like you guys made a connection quick," He said, making her chortle as he handed her a tissue.

"It's not like that… he calls me Blue for fucks sake! I think he thinks my hair is god awful and he makes all these snide-ass little gibes and for some reason I want to kiss him and punch him in the same breath, and I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me!" She said, exasperated with herself.

Akishla just didn't do feelings.

Apparently, feelings _did her._

"Look, I don't know this Chuck guy obviously; but if it was a life or death situation earlier and you saved him the only possible way that you could; then I think that he'll come to terms with it and understand. Oh, and I think that Blue is definitely a cute nickname for you… I might start using it myself." He said with a smirk.

"Oh my God, don't you _dare!" _She groaned, leaning her head back against the seat and trying to gather her thoughts.

"Akishla, don't beat yourself up okay? I care about you, Kiddo. A lot." Mort said as they stopped in front of her coach house and he kissed her on the forehead.

She hugged Mort gratefully, the gaping hole in her heart that had been ever present since she lost her Father decades ago aching less; even if only for a moment.

"You know that I'm going to be calling you every fifteen seconds when you're on patrol now, right Blue?" He teased and she shoved him lightly, giggling as she exited the car.

"You better not! And don't call me that!" She huffed, but she smiled and waved as he drove off.

She locked her door and tossed her keys on the coffee table before climbing the stairs slowly, the aches from the beating she had taken finally settling into her face, back, and arms now that the adrenaline had worn off.

Holy crow was she going to be sore when she woke up tomorrow…..

Chuck was still sleeping peacefully in the exact spot she had left him in, but his coloring was better, and the features of the doll face had turned slightly more human since she had looked at him a few hours earlier.

Akishla took pajama pants and a tank top and headed into the bathroom, turning the shower on as hot as she could stand it and letting the hot water and steam relax her soreness and stress as she massaged her Lavender and Jasmine soap into her skin.

She tried valiantly to clear her mind, but there were just too many thoughts firing across the synapses to let her be.

Would he become a full Upir like her? Would he retain any humanity at all? Any of the doll? Would his heart stop beating like hers had all those years ago?

Had she just killed him to save his life?

She shut the water off and wrung her hair out, not bothering to dry it as she toweled off her skin and stepped into her PJ's, pausing in the doorway as she considered her sleeping options.

She was _sore _goddamn it; and sleeping in the recliner for the second day in a row was only going to make it worse.

She hoped that Brad and Chad couldn't pop a boner for a fucking year; and that if they did, it was only for each other…..

Akishla climbed into bed as lightly as she could beside the sleeping man-doll, fanning her wet hair across the pillow as she lay on her side facing Chuck in the dimly lit room; sleep finally overtaking her anxiety as she closed her eyes.

The first thing Charles noticed when he partially awoke was the smell of Lavender and a warm weight pressed against him on the bed. He turned his head slowly on the pillow and squinted his eyes open, bolting into a sitting position when he saw the deep purple bruising across the entire left side of Blue's face.

_Who the fuck put their hands on her?_

Her face was swollen and bruised as well as the parts of her shoulder that he could see around the tank top that she had worn to bed.

_Some mutherfucker is going to die….._

"Blue?" He asked, reaching out to touch the hand she had splayed against her pillow. He panicked for a moment at the absence of the rise and fall of her chest, only to remember that Vampires didn't breathe, and he was a fucking idiot.

"Chuck? How are you feeling?" She asked sleepily, her bruised eye swollen shut; but the uninjured one studying him with concern.

"What happened? Who did this?" He asked, his hands already itching to kill the mutherfucker who dared touch his girl.

_His Girl?_

_Yeah, I should be so lucky….._

"We had some action from a few trespassers last night, but it was nothing that I couldn't handle." She replied, turning fully onto her side to face him and wincing when her muscles made their protest known.

"A few? Who the fuck did this to you Blue?" He demanded, wondering what else she had suffered while he lay here like a useless asshole.

"Some fucking jocks dragged a girl here to rape her, but I stopped them. This is nothing, they were all on the ground out cold when Mort and the cops got here. Felt fucking good to feed off of one of them a little too while I had him at my mercy; I don't get the opportunity to drink warm blood nearly as often as I'd like," She said as he pulled the comforter over her a bit more in an attempt to do something to feel useful.

"How many were there?" He asked, needing to hear the details so he could try to hunt the mutherfuckers down.

"Four football players and one terrified girl. I felt so bad for her; one of them had her convinced he was her boyfriend, but he just wanted to share her with his pig friends," She replied, curling closer to Chuck unconsciously as she remembered the look of sheer terror in the gullible Lexi's eyes.

"Where's central booking in this shithole town?" He asked, uncapping his IV himself and looking for his shirt.

"Huh? I don't know, why?" She asked fuzzily. Why was he awake so soon? Wasn't he still tired?

"Because I want to kill the fuckers who thought it was okay to put their hands on you, that's why." Charles replied, a bloodthirsty gleam in his steel blue eyes as he thought of just how he'd do it too.

"Chuck, Mort already spent the better part of last night bashing their goddamn brains in while the cops stood around and pretended to make daisy chains while he did it. Just come back to bed," She whined the last part and Chuck paused.

"You know, you were right; I do like Mort. I like him a lot," He said as he sat beside her once again and she chuckled.

"I knew you would," She murmured sleepily, stretching in bed with a sigh.

"Are you okay? Need me to get you some blood?" He offered, remembering something about Vampires healing faster the more they fed; but it might not apply to what she was….

"No, it's ok. I should get up and call Mort, he was really shaken up when he dropped me off last night." She said, seeing the clock on her nightstand read half past six already.

"I'll get your phone for you, Blue. Just relax for a change," He said as he slid out of bed and unplugged her cell from its charger near the window.

"Thanks," She replied, dialing Mort while Chuck went downstairs to get something for them to eat.

Twenty minutes later, she had finally calmed Mort down enough to actually allow her to patrol tonight with the promise that she would call him if she noticed anything strange and not try to handle it all by herself.

Akishla flipped on Netflix and began surfing through the seasons of American Horror Story before settling on re-watching _Coven _just as Chuck reappeared with a tray of pancakes, bacon, and coffee for both of them.

"Oh my gosh, what are you doing? You should be in bed," She sighed as he set the food down on the nightstand and sat back down beside her, waiting until she propped herself up against the headboard before handing her a plate and a steaming cup of coffee.

"Are you kidding? That last dose of morphine did the trick, I feel like a new man." He shrugged indifferently as he tucked into his own food.

She gulped and sighed, setting the plate of food down on the bed and taking a huge swallow of coffee.

May as well get this over with.

"Damn, television has definitely gotten better since the last time I watched it," He said, as one of the witches made a gory kill and blood oozed from her victim.

"Chuck? About the meds I gave you last night…." She said, trying to build up courage and not really knowing how.

"Yeah? What is it? What's wrong?" He asked her, noticing how nervous she looked.

If Chuck was good at anything; it was reading people.

"I used some of my abilities to try and understand what went wrong with the incantation the woman used to bring you back because you took a turn for the worse yesterday and I was panicking, so I read your mind. I know who you are, and I know most of what happened to you now, I needed the information so I could help you because you were dying." Akishla couldn't sit still, so she took her coffee cup and began pacing as he watched her.

"When she brought you back, she bound your soul to the body of the doll by mistake. That, combined with your strong desire to be human again fucked it all up and the doll body was becoming human at a really rapid rate and because she had stitched you up so badly in the first place, you were bleeding internally really badly; hemorrhaging and there was no other way that I could fix it." Akishla was shaking again, so she put the coffee down and carded her hands through her hair. She was trying not to cry again; she didn't want to break down in front of him like she had in front of Mort.

"Blue, its fine. Whatever you had to do is what you had to do," He said uncomprehendingly as her nails dug into her palms hard enough to make her bleed.

"You don't understand! You were _dying. _There was no way to stop what was happening to you, so I gave you some of my venom and now….. now there's a chance that you'll be like me or something like me which isn't even the worst part of it. I… I know that all you wanted was to be human again; that you kept trying to come back ever since you died, but now… Now you can't because what I did isn't reversible. Now you're going to be like this for good and it's my fault and I'm sorry." She couldn't hold it in any longer.

Now she was crying and there was blood dripping onto her (thankfully) tiled bedroom floor from where she had dug her nails into her palms. She was waiting for him to scream at her, to reach for the kitchen knife that was still on her nightstand and stab her, to curse her already cursed existence and tell her that he hated her.

Hated her for saving him and damning him all at once.

Hated her stupid blue hair and her weird fucking eyes that couldn't filter sunlight properly.

Hated her for being an Upir and sharing her curse with him.

_Hated her….._

Her phone's alarm ringing shattered the silence and made her jump half a foot in the air.

It was time to patrol; life was bending her over again…..

"I have to go," She croaked, wiping her bloody hands on her pajama pants and tugging clothes that she hadn't had time to put away out of her hamper at random and hurriedly locking herself in the bathroom to get dressed.

Charles sat on the edge of the bed in contemplation for a moment before he decided to shift his ass and change his clothes too.

Because there was absolutely _no fucking way _that he was letting her patrol by herself again.


	5. Chapter 5: Echoing Hunger

Chapter 5:

_**Authors Note:**_

_**This Chapter talks about the cremation process a bit more in depth than some people may like. Please do not read if you are sensitive to the topic and please don't think that I am trying to offend or be insensitive; my Grandma who raised me and my Father who died before I was born were both cremated and I still have Gram's ashes to this day. In my families traditions; death was openly talked about since I can remember and I consider it simply a part of life, a right of passage so to speak from this realm to the next. I just wanted you all to be aware in case anyone is sensitive to the topic because I love y'all and I want you to continue to enjoy my fic **___

When Akishla exited the bathroom, Chuck was dressed in a different pair of black jeans, a black t-shirt with a red pentagram design on the front and he was holding a long sleeve black and gray flannel over his arm.

"Think it's safe to take this out now?" He asked her, motioning to the PIC line that she had left in.

"Yeah….. lemme just get my stuff." She pulled her med kit out and got to work; a repeat of the day before, he barely felt a thing as she carefully eased the plastic catheter out and applied pressure to his arm. His skin was definitely warmer and the texture of it was closer to human; but his heartbeat was slowing down. Just like hers had when she had changed.

"Thanks Blue, it's a shame that you had to quit. You would have been a really good Doctor." He said suddenly, and he meant it. But she was avoiding his eyes now.

He hated this kind of tension between them; he wasn't sure why, but He and Blue had clicked right away and that had never happened to him before. Not even with Tiffany.

"Listen, I'm not mad at you alright? Geeze, how fucking sensitive do you think I am?" He asked her, making her look up with the eye that wasn't swollen shut widening in surprise.

"But… you're stuck now." She murmured, looking so sad and guilty that it was all he could do not to wrap his arms around her.

"Believe it or not, if I had to choose death or this, I would choose this every time. To be honest with you, as much as I'd like to be a normal human again, I've kind of gotten used to being this way and this body has its advantages." He said, making her giggle and shake her head.

"Midget wrestling?" She joked before easily flitting out of his reach as he made a swipe at her with the flannel shirt.

"Fuck you," He laughed, unable to keep his composure and actually mean it.

"Promises, promises…." She replied with a blushing smile.

It had taken every ounce of courage in her to flirt with him, and she wasn't even sure if she was doing it right.

She did feel a bit more validated when he looked struck speechless at her reply, but alas, duty called.

"I gotta go dude." She said regretfully, checking her pockets for her smokes and her zippo.

"I know and I'm coming too," He said, putting the flannel on and moving towards the door and the hall beyond.

"What? Seriously?" She asked in shock.

A huge part of her had been afraid that he would want to leave now, and she liked having him around. Akishla hadn't had any experience with these types of things; she hadn't ever had oodles of time on her hands in med school and she had never met anyone that she really liked before.

Not enough to ever consider sharing her body and her bed with anyways.

"I _am not _letting you go out there by yourself again. Ever." Chuck said with finality.

"Oh my gosh Dude, I can take care of myself! I've been working here doing this for years and years, I've fucking lost count its been so long." She sighed as they descended the steps.

"Yeah, but that was before I got here. Besides, why should you have all the fun?" He said with a smirk, grabbing a poker from the fireplace in the living room on his way to the door.

"Nice choice," She said, nodding appreciatively at his weapon as she locked up behind them.

"Eh, I try." He shrugged, making her snicker again.

Chuck climbed into the passenger seat as she buckled herself in and lit a smoke, passing him the cigarettes and zippo and pulling out onto the road.

"You like Metal? Well Rob Zombie, to be more precise." She asked as she turned on her stereo and _Sick Bubblegum _began to pound its way through the speakers.

"Fuck yes, White Zombie was my favorite fucking band when I was alive." He said, beginning to nod his head to the beat as she drove.

"Really? That's so crazy! I just got my tickets in the mail yesterday when your clothes came. He's gonna be in town next week and he sends me VIP tix every time he's here, did you want to go? It's going to be a private event…. You know, for people like us." She asked, thinking that it would be fun to actually have someone to go with for a change.

Mort _hated_ Heavy Metal or any kind of rock music for that matter.

"Yeah, that'd be sweet. I always wanted to see him live, but I never had the chance really. He didn't make it to Chicago too often back then. So, why does he send you tickets every time he's here?" He asked curiously, wondering if there was something Blue wasn't telling him. Not that it was his business (even though he wished it was).

"Robert's an Upir too. Once you turn completely, you're kind of aware of your own kind when you come across them. He and Sheri were doing a photo shoot here ages ago for one of his albums in the civil war section of the cemetery by the antique monuments and mausoleums and they sensed what I was, so they came by for a chat. He and Sheri had just found each other back then and my God could you tell the man was smitten; he was taking photos of her every five seconds and posing her all over the place like a damn Gothic Barbie." She snorted, rolling her eyes as she turned into the parking lot of the crematory.

"I have to put some cremains into the pulverizer, did you wanna come in or..?"

"Sure," He replied, following her inside the small building and locking the door behind them just to be safe.

The cremains of the driver had gone in first, with strict instructions by the families that his girlfriend; who had been in the passenger seat, go next. They also hadn't wanted a thorough clean out of his cremains before the girl was placed in the chamber, thinking that it would be nice to have some of their "ashes" mingle.

Akishla hit the button to activate the mechanic conveyor and stood by while the teenage boys bones appeared among small bits of ashes. She picked up the long-handled tool leaning against the wall and carefully swept the majority of his cremains onto a tray before running a high-powered magnet over them and wrinkling her nose when a few pieces of metal flew up to cling to it.

"What the fuck was that?" Chuck asked, his morbid curiosity making her smile.

"The kid had fillings," She explained, carefully depositing the metal bits into a container and sealing it up before slowly pouring the larger bone and skull fragments into the cremulator and turning the machine on to begin the pulverization process.

She disappeared into an adjacent room for a few moments and Chuck heard the slam of a metal door a couple of times before she reappeared wheeling in the body of the girl in what looked like a large plastic Tupperware container and a small bag containing a few of her effects that her parents wanted her cremated with.

Cindy Pierson had been very pretty before the accident that took her life, and though half of her face had been pretty damaged by the wreck, the half that had been unscathed was still beautiful, even in death.

Mort had dressed her earlier in her cheerleader outfit and positioned her hands the best that he could across her stomach, but men were only so good with final touches; and for cremations, Mort didn't really fuss much because any of his make up talent would be going to waste.

Chuck watched in fascination as Blue took out what looked like a cosmetics case and began to carefully brush the girls hair until it lay smooth around her face and shoulders; arranging half of it to partially cover the damaged side. She then applied lip gloss and blush the best that she could (to the side of Cindy's face that was still intact) before opening the bag of her effects and tucking an obviously well-loved bear into the crook of her arm and twinning a plastic rosary into her hands. A picture of her and the boy she died with dressed for their prom was the finishing touch tucked under the hands and one final smoothing of the cheerleader skirt before Akishla positioned the container at the foot of the conveyor and turned it on again, watching to make sure that the machinery was doing its job. She then shut and locked the door and flicked a few switches to activate the crematory once again, watching for a moment to make sure that the flames kicked on; setting a timer and leaving a note for Mort to see in the morning. The boys remains in the cremulator were on an automatic shut off, so they didn't need to hang around and wait for the machine to be done.

Akishla only realized how fucking weird the whole process must've been to watch when they were back on the road and she inwardly groaned. Why was she so weird?

_I should've had him wait in the car….._

She glanced at Chuck from the corner of her eye, but he didn't appear to be freaked out as they drove along the east end plots with Rob Zombie serenading them once again. He was smoking another cigarette and looking out the window, keeping an eye out for any unwanted guests.

"I think I just saw someone. Does your night vision improve with this or what?" He asked, pointing towards the small pond in the center of the east park.

"Yeah, I see them too. Upir's definitely see better at night than during the day; sunlight dead on can hurt your eyes like a sumbitch." She said, pulling over to the side of the road and tugging her trusty Louisville slugger out of the back seat while Chuck took his poker out from under his seat and got out of the car.

Chuck definitely felt different as he stalked through the night with Blue bringing up the rear; they were moving in sync silently like two feral predators. If he had ever felt the adrenaline rush of stalking a kill when he was just a human or just a possessed doll, it had been nothing compared to how he felt now as they moved forward between headstones, at one with the darkness that was surrounding them.

He explored his new instincts slowly; searching the darkness with enhanced vision, listening to the movements of the two humans ahead of them as they thought that they were actually sneaking around quietly. He listened more intently then, discovering that if he could actually _hear _their heartbeats if he listened for it; he just had to pick out the two sounds from all of the others he was hearing. Insects rustling through the grass, a mouse scratching at the base of a tree a good twenty feet to their left, the sound of a car speeding past on the road a good half a mile off; it was all there for him to hear.

He could tell that the man was closer than the woman was, and he sensed him nearby before he even shot out from behind an older monument and Chuck was airborne before he had even realized that he had lunged forward, tackling the asshole to the ground and easily pinning him by the throat to the ground.

Apparently this new gig came with superior strength too.

_And Blue had thought he'd be mad at her? He'd never felt so virile; so powerfully alive in his entire existence…._

Where had she been all of this time? He'd wasted years; decades even, on shit that hadn't even mattered.

"Alright Asshole call out for your girl and tell her not to try anything _stupid. _We clear?" Chuck asked, applying just enough pressure with the poker across his throat to let him know that he meant business.

"What the fuck? What the fuck _are you?_" He gasped, struggling to get away from him with wide, terrified eyes.

"I'm one of those recalled toys that never got returned; you can see the defects obviously huh?" Chuck asked sarcastically as he rolled his eyes at the dumb fuck.

"Got her," Blue called, shoving a thin blonde in front of her.

"Is there a reason you two fucks are trespassing here? Couldn't spring for a hotel or what?" He asked, looking the girl up and down distastefully. He knew a junkie when he saw one.

"Please…. Please just let us go, we…. We're sorry." The middle-aged guy squeaked, looking as though he were about to piss himself.

"I'm going to give you fucks one of two choices. One; You two can take a nice fucking ride with us to the front gates cuffed in the back of our car quietly and once we get to the front gates I will uncuff you and let you both go. Or you can make noise or do something to annoy or piss us off and I can snap your necks and drink your blood, burn your bodies, and dump the ashes in that fucking pond over there where you can swim around in goose shit and piss for the rest of eternity. So what's it gonna be?" Blue asked monotonously, as though she had given this speech many times before.

Chuck tried not to get a hard on right then and there for her as he took in the sight of Blue in predator mode. God almighty was she gorgeous when she was threatening someone's life; a true killer in her natural element.

_So this is what she looks like when she hunts….._

He swore he had never seen anything so beautiful.

"We'll do whatever you want, I swear." The guy gasped when Blue's unswollen eye temporarily shifted from violet to bright red and back again.

"We'll see," She said, handing Chuck a pair of cuffs and clicking a second pair onto the girl, who looked like she was only disappointed that she hadn't been able to turn her trick and get her fix.

He snapped the cuffs onto the guy, enjoying the sound of his pulse thrumming rapidly in his fear as he stood up shakily and followed Blue and the hooker over to the car with Chuck bringing up the rear this time so he could watch her back just in case.

The two intruders folded themselves into the back seat without incident, but Chuck had turned around to keep an eye on them as Blue drove; poker in hand just in case.

What they really needed for these situations was a gun or two; he'd have to mention it to her later after they ditched these sorry fuckers.

A quarter of an hour later, they had made it to the front gates without incident; and true to her word, she had let them both go, locking the gates behind them.

"That was fucking awesome." Chuck told her as they got back in the car and he rolled the poker back under the seat while Blue started out on the road again with a smile.

"Yeah, its pretty cool. I like my job," She admitted with a shrug.

"You think that Mort was serious about that job offer?" He asked her suddenly, as they headed over to the southern end of the cemetery.

"He was dead serious. He's been riding my ass about letting him hire someone to partner up with me for a decade at least, but I wouldn't budge on it. I always used to like working alone," She said, slowing down to let some of what she called the Zombie Geese pass by them. She thought it was so creepy when some of the little fuckers walked around at night.

Like seriously? Take your bird ass to bed!

"Used to like working alone?" He asked her with a smirk.

"You're alright; I mean, I have to train you up a little more and smooth out some of your edges, but you'll do I guess." She said, trying to keep up her indifferent attitude and not do a little happy dance at the thought of him working with her.

"Does that mean that you want me to stay?" He asked her.

"Does that mean that you want to?" She asked, stopping the car in the middle of the road and looking at him, her uninjured eye urging him to give her an answer.

"Yeah, I might want to stay for a while." He admitted; wishing that he had his old body back or any human body that she would find even remotely attractive, if only for moments like this when he really wanted to kiss her.

"Really?" Blue asked, unable to keep the tone of disbelief out of her voice; try as she might.

"Yeah….. really," He replied, not daring to hope or even believe as she leaned over towards him across the center console and carefully kissed his lips.

Chuck inhaled sharply in surprise before he hungrily returned it, his slowly dying heart speeding up for all it was worth as he brushed his tongue across her bottom lip and beyond, tasting her for the first time and becoming overwhelmed by the sensations and emotions he felt.

Blue whimpered softly when their tongues entwined, battling for dominance as she ran a desperate hand through his hair, but drawing back with a gasp when her fingers ran across a few of his staples.

"Shit! I'm sorry, are you okay? Did that hurt?" She gasped, checking her fingers for blood; relieved when she didn't see any.

"Nah, I'm fine Babe. The stitches and shit just feel stiff now that I'm changing, they don't really hurt anymore like they used to." He admitted; some small part of him touched that she would worry about him that way.

"Oh….good. Fuck, we still have patrol for a few hours." She groaned in frustration as Chuck adjusted his pants; even that sound coming from her lips made his cock twitch.

"Yeah, but it'll be worth the wait." He told her with a wink, secretly fucking panicking his ass off at the thought of her actually_ wanting_ to have sex with him like this.

Chuck was a dude after all, so the first thing he had done when he was alone was check out the junk that this particular body had given him. He wasn't as disappointed as he thought he would be; when he popped a boner he was still a good six, six and a half inches and for a guy that was only three feet tall that wasn't too fuckin bad. He could work with it. The fact that Blue was petite and didn't seem like the slut that Tiffany had been would help him out in the long run too, but this body still wasn't his human body and he wondered if it had any other limitations that he didn't really want to show her while they were intimate.

When he had washed up and changed clothes the day before, he had jerked a quick one off while thinking about her; so at least he knew he could cum just like he could when he was human. He guessed that other than the size of his piece that was the only other major factor that mattered. At least, he hoped that was it.

"What are thinking about? You're so quiet," She asked him softly, reaching for his hand without taking her eyes off the road.

"Just thinking about how good you're going to taste later and how much I fuckin want you right now," He replied.

Never one to beat around the bush.

Blue stopped the car again in the middle of the road and looked at him for a solid minute wordlessly before she turned and got out.

Chuck was just about to ask her what was wrong when she flitted around to the passenger side and yanked the door open so hard that it came off its hinges with a metallic squeal.

"Babe, wha-

Blue's mouth descended on his again, but the urgency behind the kiss was tenfold as he fought to keep up with her movements; unable to help himself when he grew hard once again within the restricting fabric of his jeans.

"Blue, wait." He gasped out as she worked her lips down his jawline and his throat.

"Can't" She replied monosyllabically as she continued to nip his throat softly, making his eyes roll into the back of his head when her teeth grazed over his jugular and adams apple.

"Fuck….. Blue, we can't…." He moaned when she ran her hand over his erection before kneading his balls with her palm.

Blue briefly let her fangs sink into his skin, tasting his essence on her lips and moaning when she felt the tingling of the bruise on her face healing; this was old Upir magic.

"Blue…. I don't want you to get in trouble with Mort," He gasped, shuddering when he felt her tug him free of his jeans and wrap her lips and tongue around him greedily.

"FUCK!" He shouted, no longer able to stay quiet as she began suckling him with undulating strokes as her head bobbed up and down gently but firmly, like a wave that was going to take him under…

The entire world was spinning out of control as she took him into her mouth as deep as he would go, her tongue now lapping at his balls because a good three inches of his dick was crammed down her throat.

"Blue… ungh god," He leaned back slowly, expecting to feel the support of the car seat only to feel the softness of pillows.

She had somehow transported them back to the house… back to her room.

Chuck sighed in pleasure as she continued bobbing her head and laving her tongue.

_He was seeing fuckin stars…._

Chuck grunted as he gently pushed her away, knowing that if he let her continue on like this, he would cum, and he wanted to be inside her long before that happened…..

Blue whimpered at the loss of her new favorite thing to have in her mouth, but he surprised her with his newfound Upir strength when he easily flipped her over and rolled her beneath him. The height difference wasn't _too _horrible as Blue was only five feet tall to begin with; so there were only two feet to compensate for in either direction as he pressed himself into her thigh needfully and began to unbuckle her pants, drawing down the zipper and pulling them and her panties off in one go.

Chuck was an impatient bastard at the best of times, so as soon as he saw her pussy his mouth was on her, tasting and suckling and moaning at the flavor of her.

Blue clawed and fisted the sheets below her desperately, spreading her legs further to give him better access as he thrust his tongue inside of her; alternating between her clit and entrance before inserting two of his fingers into her in search of her g spot.

She winced and cried out, gasping when she felt the pinch of herself stretching for the first time under his ministrations.

"Shit, are you okay?" He asked breathily as she nodded, tugging him back towards her.

"Don't you dare fucking stop," She hissed, kissing his lips demandingly as he continued to finger her.

_God she's so fucking wet….. so fucking tight….._

Chuck was tender and fierce by turns; nipping and suckling at her breasts, laving his tongue across her nipples with teasing velvety pressure before delivering short punishing little bites only to sooth her with kisses all over again.

"Chuck….. god please…. I can't fucking take anymore. I need you," She begged him, tugging him towards her as he kicked off his jeans and whipped his t-shirt over his head and somewhere onto the floor behind him. He barely had time to register the fact that her shirt had disappeared too before she was urgently kissing him again and pulling him against her. He felt the heat of her core and smelled the pheromones on the air from their combined arousal and a primal urge to have her, _to mate with her_ pressed into his mind.

When Chuck finally entered her slowly he gasped as the feel of her walls tight against him made him want to cum then and there. He took a deep breath to get ahold of himself and allow her time to adjust around him; as much of an asshole as he was, he didn't want to hurt her. Especially not now.

_Not ever…_

At this height and this position, he was level with her breasts once more as he rocked into her bit by bit, distracting her from the foreign feeling of being stretched by teasing her pebbled peaks with his lips, teeth, and tongue. He took his time to taste and worship at her breasts and neck alternately until she was so wet that he shuddered at the warm and silken feel of her.

"Blue… where the fuck have you been all this time?" He whispered achingly as he thrust into her fully for the first time and she cried out in ecstasy and want.

"Chuck….. oh God, oh fuck, oh please…" She sighed, clinging to his shoulders, wishing that she was more experienced so she could figure out what the fuck to do. How the fuck was it possible that she wanted to crawl into him and have him fill her up all at once? She only knew that she never ever wanted this to stop; she could spend eternity with him here between her legs fucking her senseless and it still wouldn't be long enough.

He rolled his hips forward again and again, pulling himself all the way out each time before thrusting back inside of her as he began to change his pace and angle, surprising her when he lifted her hips into a new position only to thrust even deeper than before, if such a thing were even possible.

Blue cried out over and over again as he rocked into her deeper, both of them losing control of their strength and emotions as their primal instincts took over and Chuck lashed out and bit her hard, sinking his new fangs in deep and drinking her essence in deep pulls. Blood and Upir venom gushed over his tongue as he felt her bite into him as well, suckling deeply at his neck while he fucked her so hard that both of their bodies were bouncing off of the mattress with the impact.

Chuck felt his balls beginning to tighten and he used his full strength to slam her wrists to the bed as a feral growl tore its way from his throat.

"You're mine! Say it, Blue!" He barely recognized his voice as her eyes flickered down to his own.

_Violet-Red-Violet-Red-Violet-Red…._

"Fucking say it!" He demanded, feeling her walls tighten around him as her arousal grew even further; the pheromones spiking the air were nearly corporeal as he dominated her.

_She liked it…._

A distant part of Chuck filed that knowledge away for later.

"I'm yours," She breathed beneath him, gasping as he thrust hard and deep; making her lose control and cum.

"You're mine and I'll fucking kill anyone else that touches you." He growled gutturally as he finally came hard, filling her until he had painted her walls white.

Chuck came back to himself slowly after a few moments before becoming aware that he was laying his full weight on her. He rocked his weight onto his forearms on the mattress below, but Blue stirred and stopped him.

"Stay," She said softly, brushing his auburn hair from his face as she stared into his eyes for a moment before sleep took her again.

"Always," He whispered, shutting his eyes as his heart finally stopped.


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting Mort the Mortician

Chapter 6:

When Blue's eyes opened, she smiled when she felt the warm weight of Chuck laying across her chest, using one of her breasts as a pillow as he slept. She ran her fingers through his hair carefully, reflecting that it felt more like human hair now and was a shade darker as well; rich and beautiful like coppery fire.

The clock on her nightstand told her that it was just passed noon, which made her groan inwardly. Mort would've seen her car by now somewhere along the J, K, or L section of the southern end of the cemetery. She wondered if she would be facing a search party when she opened the front door or if he would just eventually come barging in on them with wild worry in his dark eyes.

Blue paused then; listening intently to the silence in the house and an unease settled in the pit of her stomach as she wondered what it was she was listening for; what it was that was missing…..

Charles.

She couldn't hear his heartbeat…..

He wasn't breathing…..

"Chuck!" She screamed, panic setting in as she rolled him onto the bed beside her.

"What?! Blue, what is it? What's wrong?" He bolted into a sitting position looking around wildly before his grey-blue eyes settled on her stricken violet ones.

She wrapped him in what would have been a bone-breaking embrace had he still been human and sobbed inconsolably against his neck, Upir venom running freely from her eyes down her cheeks as he held her uncomprehendingly.

"Babe, what the hell happened? What's wrong?" He asked her again, tugging the comforter from the foot of the bed around the both of them and rocking her gently until she collapsed in a fit of sobs on her side, shaking uncontrollably.

"Blue, for fucks sake! Will you tell me what's wrong? You're scaring the shit outta me, Babe." Chuck said, thumbing away the thick pearlescent tears that were running down her cheeks to collect in a shining little puddle on their pillows.

"I k-killed you. Your heart isn't b-b-beating," She sniffled sadly, but Chuck smiled and shook his head.

"We knew that this was probably gonna happen. I don't feel any different babe; I'm still in here, it's still me. You saved my ass twice now," He assured her, thinking about her picking him up from the road. If she hadn't have found him that night, he would have either froze to death or bled out…..

And he had already bled out once in his life, he wasn't exactly eager to repeat it.

Chuck jumped slightly when Blue's cell phone rang shrilly and Mort's name along with a picture of them together a few Halloween's ago flashed across the screen.

"Damn," She sighed, snatching the phone from the nightstand.

"Hello?" She answered sleepily, prepping for a tirade of worry from him as she wiped away her tears.

"Akishla? Ugh, thank God! I saw your car out in section J. Did it stall again like it did last winter?" He asked in concern.

Chuck's shoulders shook in silent laughter and Blue punched his arm and gave him a glare, but she couldn't help it as a smile crept across her face.

"Yeah, piece of shit. We ended up finishing rounds on foot," She lied smoothly as Chuck shook his head in mock disapproval at her and winked.

"Oh, is your friend feeling better? I'm glad that you weren't out here by yourself when it happened at least. Listen, I'm going to try to start Bessie up with my spare key and bring her back by your place in about an hour and have one of the landscape guys follow with my car. Can we do a late lunch together for the three of us? The Damned Petersen's just plunked a box of marble for me to sort through on my desk." Mort jabbered in his characteristic manic fashion.

"Yes, Chuck's fine; lunch sounds great, and I thought were going with the snowflake obsidian with copper veining?" Blue answered succinctly.

"Great! You guys feel like Panera? We can get it delivered; you know where the card info is. I don't even know which one it is 'Kish. There are literally twenty samples in here and they almost all look the same, so I need you to sort it if you can because they want an answer by four today so the guys can start hauling marble slabs by early next week," Mort replied, sounding out of breath as geese honked in the background and Blue heard the beep-beep of her car being unlocked.

"Yeah no problem, I got you covered. Are you having your usual from Panera?" She asked knowingly as Chuck looked at her like she was from Mars; Panera didn't exist back in his day…

"You know it Kiddo. I'll see you in an hour or so." Mort disconnected the call and she tossed her cell back on her nightstand, making a mental note to charge the damned thing before it died.

"Yeah those car problems sure were a _bummer _last night," Chuck snorted, unable to keep a straight face as he dodged a pillow that she sent flying at his head.

"You are such an _ass, _Charles." She sighed, trying to keep her poker face up as well, but she couldn't quite manage as he leaned in to kiss her.

Why this little Man-Doll-Upir hybrid had such a way with her was a mystery indeed as she deepened the kiss and he lay down beside her once more without breaking their connection.

Blue grinned against his lips and began to kiss down his jaw to the side of his neck before gently pushing against his shoulder, signaling him to lay on his back.

"Uh….. Blue, as much as I would really, _really _love to repeat last night; your boss did say he would be here-

"In an hour," She interrupted smoothly, her teasing smirk level with his goods before she took his semi-hardness into her mouth once more.

"Ungh…Fuck!" Chuck cursed, gasping as she undulated her tongue with silken strokes against the underside of his cock, cupping and massaging his balls as his eyes squeezed shut and his head fell back against the pillow.

Blue took him in deeper then, relaxing her jaw a bit more and inching him tantalizingly down her throat while her tongue lapped lower and lower, swirling around his shaft; laving with the perfect pressure while her lips bobbed up and down creating a sweet suction all the way down to the base of him.

"Shit….. What did you do? Take a fuckin class?" He gasped shakily, making her giggle while her mouth was still full of him; creating a whole new sensation as her vocal cords vibrated around him.

"Oh Blue….. Jesus, I don't think I've ever been this fuckin hard," He husked while he watched her continue to work and fought the urge to buck his hips.

Charles had had a few blow jobs in his time and they had ranged from mediocre to downright disasters. He had dated a girl in high school who would lick around his junk or attempt to suck him off without adding much pressure, which was more frustrating than anything, so he'd usually just fuck her and get it over with. Tiffany was a disaster of a different kind; as much of a slut that she was, she could choke on a fuckin grain of salt her gag reflex was so terrible. The first time she tried giving him head, she kept on gagging and choking so bad that she threw up in his lap. Needless to say, they hadn't tried again after that.

But Blue was a completely different animal.

He could have sworn she had been gifted with a manual to his dick as she pulled him out only to suck him back into her mouth and throat as far as he could go, her head bobbing and undulating while her lips and tongue continued their assault and her hands caressed his balls and taint. His legs began to shake he was in such ecstasy as he gasped again for unneeded breath; his toes curling and his heels digging into the bed.

"Blue! Fuck…. Babe, move… gonna cum soon," He stuttered, attempting to push her away, but she shoved his hand back; bobbing her head even faster and pumping her hand at the base of his cock. Blue moaned her own pleasure as she felt his balls begin to tighten; the thought that she was making him lose control like this making her clit twitch and her nipples harden.

She reached between her legs and began to work her fingers over her bundle of nerves, her walls slick and warm with the evidence of her own pleasure.

Chuck couldn't hold still any longer, his eyes widening at the sight of her taking every inch of him as he began ramming his dick into her mouth and throat, his hips pistoning off the bed as he thrust.

He wasn't sure what was better, her tight pussy or her talented fucking mouth.

Blue let out a keening moan as she came with him still in her throat, the vibrations from her vocal cords sending him over the edge as he exploded, stream after stream of his essence shooting down her throat as he shuddered to completion; roaring his pleasure while she drank every drop.

She licked him clean and got off of the bed on wobbly legs to plug her phone in; giving him the best view of her plump ass that she could as she made her way into the bathroom, leaving the door open while she stepped into the shower; an open invitation for him to join her if he wished.

Chuck lay there for a moment, slowly coming back to himself from the most mind-boggling blow job he ever had; cock still twitching as he attempted to be able to think clearly enough to facilitate movement.

_Holy-fuck-shit, She's incredible….._

He'd never been fucked like that by anyone.

_She's so fuckin gorgeous….._

_The hair, and the eyes, and the body with those curves in all the right places._

If there was one thing that Chuck hated, it was a broad without a little meat on her. If anything, he was a little bit aggressive when he fucked; not to mention possessive of what was his; and he liked a girl that he could really pound into without feeling fucking _bones. _

He was definitely a guy who enjoyed ass and hips and tits.

_And Blue was the whole package….._

Chuck climbed off of the bed slowly and stretched, feeling a bit more freedom of movement in the small body than he had had before as he went to the toilet and took a piss, wondering if Upir's kept up some of the bodily functions of their human counterparts or if his body was still in the midst of processing the changes the venom was making.

"You better get your ass in here before we run out of time," Blue called with a smirk as she watched him through the fogged glass of her shower door.

"Well, I cant complain about the view," He said as he stepped in behind her and took in the sight of the water rivulets wending their way down her body.

"Enjoy it while it lasts because we won't be able to mess around until after patrol tonight," She sighed, rolling her eyes. This was the first time that she wasn't super geeked about the opportunity to drive around looking for trespassers and possible 'snacks' if they caused enough trouble.

"Unlike one of us, I can actually be patient." He replied as he slathered himself with soap, carefully avoiding running his hands over the stitches and staples that were an apparently permanent feature of his physique now.

"I didn't hear you complaining last night or just now about my lack of patience. Do you really hate the fact that I could ram your whole cock in my mouth right now and ride you with my face until you cum again?" She asked innocently as though she were asking him to pass the conditioner.

"Jesus fuck, Blue. The shit you say is gonna get you in trouble," He hissed, feeling his dick jump slightly at the words coming out of her mouth; his body already responding to the promise of more of her.

Blue bent slightly to kiss him, nipping over his jaw to his ear before whispering huskily,

"Promise to punish me if I'm a bad girl?"

"_Fuck, _did you just study up on every fuckin kink I have? What the hell!" He gasped as she gave him one last lingering kiss before stepping out and letting him finish washing up without her presence to distract him.

Chuck fought the urge he had to follow her out of the shower and toss her onto the bed again; maybe give her ass a few smacks while he pounded into her hard and fast…..

While he finished rinsing the conditioner out of his hair, he wondered if he should just prepare himself to walk around for the rest of his existence with a goddamn chubby.

Blue pulled on a pair or black jeans , a dark plum colored blouse, and her favorite black combat boots before she made her way to the walk-in refrigerator for something to drink; she was parched. She pulled down two bags at random and sank her teeth into them one after the other; knowing that she would need to fill up on blood to help Charles drink something too. New Upir's needed to feed on actively flowing blood if they were to reap the full benefits of a feed, and she was more than willing to help him out…..

Akishla made her way over to her laptop then, ordering lunch for the three of them and going through the handful of voicemails on the machine before Chuck made his way into the kitchen just as the doorbell sounded.

Mort. Blue took in a deep and un-needed breath to steady her nerves as she met Chuck's steel-blue eyes as he seated himself across from her.

"I'll behave," He assured her, reading the look in her eyes without her actually having to vocalize anything.

"Sure you will," She snorted, tossing her long hair over her shoulder as she rose to get the door. Mort had keys, but he was always respectful of her privacy.

_Just please don't let them be at each other's throats…_ She silently prayed to any God that may have been listening as she flung open the door.

"Hey," She greeted awkwardly; uncharacteristic of her usual comfy relationship with her boss/father figure.

"Hey 'Kish. Here's the damned samples, I can't make heads or tails of which one is which." He gestured to the small box he carried as he made his way through the hall and into the kitchen where Chuck was sitting at the table.

"Chuck, this is Mortimer Beecher; Mort this is Chuck," She introduced softly; and to Mort's credit, he didn't pause or balk as he reached forward and shook Chuck's hand.

"Howdy, it's nice to meet you. 'Kish texted me a brief incident report about you guys' rounds last night before the car stalled and I think that you guys did pretty decently together all said and done," Mort said by way of greeting, his characteristic up front and open attitude as present as ever as he sat himself down at the table beside the Upir hybrid.

If Chuck was surprised by Mort's acceptance, he was careful not to show it as he met Blue's eyes and smiled before shrugging.

"Eh, lets just say it wasn't the first time I've ever taken out the trash." He replied as she dug a Pepsi out of the fridge for Mort and offered one to Chuck.

"Thanks Babe," He said as Blue placed the drinks in front of both of them, her cheeks reddening slightly at his (purposeful) slip of his pet name for her.

The slip wasn't lost on Mort as he cracked his soda open and watched Blue sort through the marble samples carefully before she found what she was looking for.

"It's this one," She said, handing it over to him with certainty as she noisily dropped the others back into the box before her.

"Looks great. It also looks like every other hunk of rock in the box," Mort chortled, shaking his head as she gave him a look and shook her head.

Chuck snorted softly as he took a sip of the Pepsi in an attempt to somewhat quench his slowly growing thirst.

"So, 'Kish tells me that you might be interested in staying on here for a bit." Mort said by way of subject change to avoid his pseudo-Daughter's ire.

"Yeah, it seems like something that I could do efficiently enough. I would assume that you have some questions for me though?" Chuck asked, holding his Pepsi with both hands to steel himself for something Spanish inquisition like.

"Not many, to be honest; Blue's filled me in on most of it and it's not like this is a conventional situation here by any means. We each have our own particular set of circumstances and it's just safer for us to stick together than to be apart; something that Akishla and I have done for decades now. If you don't mind me saying so, it looks like you could be useful in a pinch when She's out there by herself; the element of surprise alone could be essential in some of the situations she runs into. I've been hoping she'd finally let me hire someone on practically since she got here, but no such luck until you came along. Now's my chance," Mort said with a shrug.

"Well I definitely have her back no matter what; Blue has saved my ass twice now for whatever reason she did it, so it's the least that I can do." Chuck replied honestly.

"Good. As far as pay goes, I can start you at the same rate as 'Kish to be fair, but I can give you a bit of an advance to cover needed essentials; like clothes and food. It's $22 per hour, time and a half on Holidays, of course medical, dental, and vision would be covered by me should you require it. Unfortunately, I am short on living space here on the grounds; but I could arrange for something to be built should you need—

"That won't be necessary. Unless….. you don't want to stay here with me," She interjected, only to realize that she wasn't even sure if she and Chuck were actually _together. _Or if they were, they hadn't agreed to anything concrete yet.

When had her life gotten so complicated.

"Nah, Blue is right. I'm good here," He replied, meeting her eyes as though in silent answer to her unspoken question.

"Great! Well, here's a small advance to start you off with. Half cash and half Debit Card, as I understand it; 'Kish has found a place online to purchase clothes in your size?" He asked, and Chuck nodded as Mort handed him a fat envelope to his utter astonishment.

"Uh…. Thanks. Yeah, she's been helping me out a lot." He replied, making a mental note to ask her how much he owed her for what she had already ordered him.

"Sweetest girl I know…. When she isn't on patrol, that is." Mort joked with a wink and Chuck smirked.

He liked Mort; which was unusual to say the least.

He normally didn't like anyone.

"Yeah, one of a kind." Chuck agreed; his eyes meeting hers again across the table again just as the doorbell rang, breaking their spell.

"That'll be lunch," She said, springing from her seat faster than she meant to as she flitted to the door.

"I'll have 'Kish give you the pay schedule for this year and set you up with your own direct deposit account that pays directly from my bank account to yours every Friday, but if you ever need anything, you can just let me know and I can take care of it. I'm good to my employees believe it or not," He said unnecessarily as Chuck tucked the overstuffed envelope into his pocket; physical proof of Mort's open generosity.

"Sounds good, but I'm a guy of few needs, I should get by just fine on what we've discussed. I, uh….. really appreciate the job," Chuck replied awkwardly.

He wasn't used to this type of thing at all, he had held very few legit employment opportunities in his lifetime that were even close to above board and honest.

"I appreciate the help. I really don't like Akishla out there on her own, you saw what happened the other night?" He asked as Chuck's jaw muscles clenched in anger and he nodded; the bruises on Blue's face and shoulder fresh in his mind.

"I hope I run into those pieces of shit one day; I'd like to finish what you started." Chuck said with relish, imagining all of the pain he could inflict on the assholes that thought it was okay to put their hands on what was _His._

"I'd like to help you finish what I started," Mort replied; a grim smile on his face.

So rare in life to meet one kindred spirit, let alone _two….._

Blue came back and set the bags down on the counter before beginning to pull out the containers and sort through what belonged to whom; making up their plates in turn and setting out a miniature feast of soup bread bowls, savory mac and cheese, and an assortment of fresh-baked pastries for dessert.

Chuck dug in with gusto, not realizing how hungry he was until his newly heightened sense of smell kicked in and his mouth watered as he picked up the scents of cheese, broccoli, sourdough bread, and the fresh baked Danishes like never before.

"Good, right?" Blue asked him knowingly as he cleaned his plate in record time and snatched up a raspberry and cheese Danish for dessert.

"Freakin' amazing," He replied, wishing that he had been able to experience food this way sooner.

"By the way, Carlos was able to start up Bessie and follow me here, but you might need to use the hearse for rounds tonight with Chuck. Why didn't you tell me that your passenger side door was broken?" Mort asked with a frown as Chuck began coughing mid-swallow.

"I've been meaning to fix it," She shrugged nonchalantly as Mort pat his back to help clear his un-needed airway.

"You okay?" She asked, raising a brow in concern.

Blue was cool as a clam…..

"Yeah, fine…." He sniffed, taking a deep swig of Pepsi and clearing his throat.

"All that choking sounded like it _sucked."_ She replied, the double entendre very clear to him as he met her eyes across the table; was she really wanting to go there? Because two could play at that game…..

"Yeah, I'm just not accustomed to that big of a meal all at once." He replied with a small smile.

"To each their own, I guess." She shrugged, a challenge in her eyes present; daring him to continue.

"Well, here are the hearse keys for now. I've already had Carlos drive Bessie to the shop for repair and she should be right as rain in a couple of days; and don't give me that look Akishla, I want you in a vehicle that's safe." Mort said, the subject very much closed.

"Thanks for having her fixed, but she's a good car." Blue said, finally taking her eyes from Chuck to address Mort. This was an argument they had at least twice a year.

"She's an _old _car." Mort replied, sighing as he finished his own lunch off.

"You're an Old Man too, but I'm not looking to trade you in any time soon." Blue quipped sarcastically.

"You are the hardest person to give things to! Besides, a new car would be for the cemetery's safety as well as your own!" He argued.

"Oh please! The _Cemetery's Safety?! _I do my job just fine, thanks." She huffed, fighting the childish urge to stomp her foot.

"I never said that you didn't. Just think about it, would ya?" He asked, acquiescing with her for the time being.

"I will. Hmmmm, No." She replied, making Mort wince slightly.

"I hope you change your mind in a few days," He said softly, getting up and tossing his trash, avoiding her gaze.

"Mort… what are you not telling me?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Nothing….. I gotta go. The Petersen's will have my ass if I don't give them an answer by 3." He said, saluting them in farewell as he stuck the marble sample in his pocket and sauntered out the door as fast as he could.

"He has something up his sleeve," She mumbled as Chuck shook his head at the pair of them. If he didn't know better, he would have thought that they were actually Father and Daughter with all the friendly bickering and banter.

"I see a new car in our future," He said, suspicious of Mort's behavior himself.

"God, that would be so like him to do that! I've had Bessie since I was a teenager and we've been through a lot together." Blue said irritably, her attachment to the nearly rusted hunk of metal plain for anyone to see.

"Your first car?" He asked, recognizing and sympathizing with her for anthropomorphizing the old Toyota Celica.

"Yeah….. she was all we could afford at the time, but I cleaned her up and took care of her all this time and she's been good to me." Blue confessed, thinking about all of the places that she and the car had been.

"Well, if we are immortal, then we're going to go through a lot of cars eventually, Babe." He reasoned gently, shifting his chair closer to her so he could take her hand; running his thumb across her knuckles in an effort to comfort her.

Blue smiled, tugging him closer and kissing him passionately; the entire mood shifting as she tugged again and he was out of the chair, cock awakening once again as he fought her for dominance, only winning when he palmed her breast and teased her nipple into a hard-pebbled peak once more.

She was trying to be mindful of his stitches and staples as she ran her fingers through his soft dark auburn hair, happy to continue tasting and exploring for all she was worth.

Chuck inhaled unnecessarily as the sensations of her touch and the smell of her own unique scent flooded his mind and he nearly lost himself in her once again.

"_Fuck, Babe." _He sighed as he tried to cool down a bit, breaking away only to pepper kisses and nips down her throat towards her collarbone.

"Are you thirsty?" She asked, knowing the answer before he gave it.

"Yeah, I'm guessing I need one of your blood pouches because that Pepsi didn't do shit." He said, moving towards the fridge, but she tugged him back and swept her hair to the side for him.

"Here, it'll quench your thirst better this way." She explained, watching as his eyes zeroed in on her jugular hungrily, but reluctantly.

"I don't want to hurt you like that," He muttered, surprised when he realized that he spoke the truth.

He wasn't used to giving a shit about anyone other than himself.

"Did it hurt you when I bit you last night?" She asked, watching his eyes as he fought to try to recall pain from their coupling the night before.

"No," He husked, his lips claiming hers again as he recalled the way she felt beneath him and around him. He mouthed his way down her neck slowly; cutting a path of heat with his tongue and teeth, his hand wrapping its way around the nape of her neck for support as her head lulled back to give him better access and he bit into her jugular carefully, moaning in ecstasy as the first sip of blood mixed with the essence of her venom made its way down his throat.

_So fucking warm and sweet…_

Blue gasped; her clit throbbing with sudden want as he fed from her. Her hand made its way up the smaller but defined muscles of his back to cup the back of his head, her fingers tangling themselves into his hair as she urged him all the way forward, his newly extended canines sinking as deep as they could go as he drank his fill of her.

When his thirst was satiated, he instinctually laved his venom-tainted saliva over the small punctures in her throat; effectively healing the tiny wounds before he laid his head on her breasts to get his bearings.

"Are you okay?" She asked softly, noticing that he was on his knees on the edge of the chair between her wide-spread legs and his pupils were a bit larger than normal.

"Shouldn't I be asking you?" He chuckled shakily as she gathered him against her and laid back in her seat.

"I'm fucking wonderful," Blue giggled, meaning every word of it as his lips met hers once more.


	7. Chapter 7: Getting to know you

**Chapter 7:**

They had somehow made it upstairs to her room for another round before lounging in her bed and binge-watching American Horror Story on Netflix; cracking the window and smoking cigarettes while lazily watching the murders on television unfold.

Blue was spooning Chuck's back, running her hands back and forth in a gentle massage of his shoulder and upper arm and occasionally running her fingers through his hair.

Chuck was sure that he would be purring if he were a cat as he lay there enjoying her ministrations; half-dozing with the back of his head cushioned by her breasts. He didn't give a fuck what anyone said; this was the life…..

"It's gonna be so fucking awkward driving the fucking _Hearse _around later. Goddamned thing doesn't go past 40 miles an hour! God, Mort overreacts like a paranoid Mother Hen," She sighed as Chuck snickered darkly at her grousing.

"Maybe this'll teach you patience, huh?" He asked her with a raised brow pointedly.

"I seriously doubt it," She replied, her hand trailing down his stomach, under the sheets, and between his legs to grope him with just the right amount of pressure on his flaccid (for the moment) dick; sucking his earlobe into her mouth and moaning with relish.

"Blue…. If I wasn't already dead, you'd be the damned death of me for sure," He sighed, eyes nearly rolling into the back of his head as she laughed softly.

"Am I really that bad?" She asked in mock-innocence with a lewd smile.

"That fucking good," He sighed, turning in her grasp to face her and crash his lips over hers, sucking her bottom lip into his mouth and kneading her breasts for good measure; he couldn't keep his hands to himself around her.

Blue groaned as the alarm sounded on her phone and she shut it off with a smack and a sigh.

"Damn," She pouted, some inner part of her wishing that they never had to leave the bed again except to eat, use the bathroom, and shower between fucks.

Chuck shook his head and rolled out of bed to shower and dress, leaving the door open in silent invitation as she herself had done earlier when they had first awakened.

Blue turned off the television and stretched languorously across the bed, enjoying the feel of the smooth cool sheets against her skin.

After a quick (and only minorly distracting) shower, they both dressed and headed downstairs, Blue packing a large thermos of coffee and a few packs of blood for the road before pocketing her cigs and zippo and groaning as she spotted the Hearse conveniently parked nearby.

"Fuck my life," She sighed softly as she locked the door behind her, flicking Chuck's ear when she heard him snickering.

"Hey! At least its only for a few days," He reasoned innocently.

"Shut it before I make you ride in the back." She huffed as she got in, slammed the door, and cranked the engine to life; turning the heat up as high as it would go as the car warmed up.

Chuck got in and swiped her cigs from her pocket and lit one with a grateful sigh, inhaling and exhaling with near-meditative breath.

"At least Mort transferred our weapons to this hunk of junk," Blue said with a smirk, nodding towards the bat and fireplace poker at Chuck's feet.

"Yeah….. I was going to ask you; why don't you have any guns? I mean, wouldn't that make us seem a bit more imposing?" He asked curiously.

Blue snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Okay, lemme go down the list here for you. One, guns are loud and messy. They draw unnecessary attention, which is the last thing we need here, not to mention they cause us to waste way too much precious blood if we do need to make a kill. Two, guns draw police attention, which we get here from time to time, but then police need to see paperwork for said guns to make everything seem legit and above board. As an ex-serial killer would know, guns make a cop think twice; like was the trespasser killed or injured with an unnecessary amount of force? Etc. Come on Chuck, you're smarter than that," Blue said with a wink as she pulled off to start their rounds.

"Yeah, Yeah. I see your point," He said grudgingly, nearly smacking himself in the head for such a dumb question. This was a legit job. He just wasn't quite used to that,

"Besides, isn't it more fun being hands on? I mean, when you really get close to them. Hear their rapid fragile little heartbeats and see the sheer terror in their eyes. I swear that the fear makes the blood taste better; not to mention their blood pressure goes up and the blood pumps faster so you yield a warmer meal for your troubles," She shrugged, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Chuck studied her silently for a moment before huffing a quiet laugh and shaking his head ironically.

"What?" She asked, suddenly self-conscience. Had she said too much? Went into too much weird-ass gory detail? She hated her lack of social skills in moments like these; she had slipped up with Mort a few times too, but he had always brushed it off.

Mort; ever the gentleman.

"The way you express yourself; like you paint a picture with your words. You should write or something, you'd be great at that," He replied, looking out the window to avoid her eyes suddenly. He wasn't used to liking anyone enough to give them compliments and it made him feel awkward.

Blue laughed genuinely as she turned into the northern section of the cemetery.

"So; Doctor, Chef, Writer. You're like my own personal career advisor," She said taking a swig of coffee and offering it to him with a smile.

"Well, you definitely got potential is all I'm saying." He shrugged as he took the thermos from her and took a drink.

"Meh. I'm happy doing what I do." She replied, stopping and flashing her headlights irritably at some more zombie geese to get them out of the way.

"What the fuck is that Chic doing in the middle of the road up there?" He asked her suddenly, pointing ahead of them.

"Ah shit. It's no biggie, I just gotta get her out of there." Blue sighed irritably.

"You dealt with her before then?" He asked curiously.

"Oh yeah. That's Evelyn, one of our residents." Blue replied.

"Uh…. Residents? As in….?" Chuck trailed off uncertainly.

"She's dead. Around here they call her the Lady in White. She fucks with people driving past the cemetery sometimes, but Mort wants to try to keep that shit to a minimum if we can," Blue explained, ramming the car into park and motioning for Chuck to join her.

"Is she the only Resident that's…. restless?" He asked suddenly, wondering what other supernatural shit was going on.

"Well… she's just more active than some of the others," Blue replied, catching the poltergeist's eye and beckoning her closer.

"Hey Evie, what the hell girl?" She asked breathily as Evie walked right through the wrought iron gates towards them.

"Buona serata, Akishla! Come va?" Evelyn asked with a sweet smile. (_Good evening, Akishla, How are you?)_

"Sto bene, che ci fai qui? Causando problemi?" Blue asked with a smirk, causing Evie to shrug and giggle. (_I'm good, what are you doing out here? Causing trouble?)_

"No, sono solo annoiato. Chi e questo?" She asked, looking at Chuck curiously. (_No, I'm just bored. Who is this?)_

"Oh si, quanto sono stato scortese con me! Questo e Charles. E il mio nuovo collega. Chuck, this is Evelyn Scarlatto, but she prefers Evie," Blue introduced, Chuck nodded hello awkwardly, shoving his hands in his pockets. (_Oh yes, how rude of me! This is Charles. He's my new co-worker.)_

"Molto bene! E un piacere conoscerti. Giochi a carte, Charles? Como chiama il Maestro il gioco? Picche?" Evie asked excitedly, reminding Blue that Mort's weekly card night was tomorrow. (_Very good! A pleasure to meet you. Do you play cards, Charles? What does the Master call the game? Spades?)_

"She wants to know if you play Spades. Mort holds a game every week and its usually just Him and I and a couple of the residents like Evie, but you can come too if you want," Blue translated easily as Chuck looked at her in surprise. It was like he learned something new about her every minute.

"Uh, yeah I play. I'll definitely be there as long as Mort's okay with it," He replied, wondering how rusty he was. He hadn't played Spades since high school.

"Dice che suona e ci sara, fintanto che ti comporterai tra oggi e domani sera," Blue said slyly, nudging Evie with her shoulder. (_He says he plays and he will be there, as long as you behave between now and tomorrow night.)_

"Faro del mio meglio, Signore. Se non fossi gia morto, la noia di questo posto mi ucciderebbe, Fino a domani sera, Signore e Signorina." Evie bid them farewell and disappeared into the shadows once more.

"She said that she'll try to be on her best behavior until tomorrow night, and that if she wasn't already dead, the boredom of this place would kill her," Blue summarized, translating loosely.

"Where'd she go?" He asked, half expecting her to reappear on the road.

"Probably headed towards home. Her crypt isn't far from here, but she's always restless. Mort doesn't mind her wandering around the cemetery at night, but she caused two accidents last year on the road and he wants to minimize her damage. She's so fucking angry when she spots young guys in muscle cars, she aims to kill every time." Blue explained as they got back in the hearse.

"So you're bilingual?" Chuck asked, apparently unfazed by the knowledge that they were neighbors with a murderous poltergeist.

"Multilingual. Just an FYI, we gotta keep an eye on her and Scary Larry from time to time. They're the two asses that like to cause us the most grief. I'll take you by their places so you can see where they hang," Blue said, turning down a path with the more luxurious crypts and mausoleums.

"Scary Larry?" Chuck chortled.

"He's so annoying. He waits for cars to drive by here and transports himself into their trunks or their gas tanks or he'll work his way into the hood of the car and fuck with peoples spark plugs or sets off their windshield wipers. Just dumb ass pranks, but they tend to scare the shit out of the fleshies he pulls them on." Blue sighed and rolled her eyes at the thought of him.

"What does he do in the trunk? Kick around?" Chuck asked with a snort.

"Worse. He usually zaps himself into the trunk of some random bitches car and beats off loud as fuck; I'm talking full out X-rated, moaning, groaning, wet-slapping meat-spank. Then when the broad pulls over and opens the trunk to investigate, bam! Non-corporeal ghost dong smack in the face." Blue replies, nearly choking on her laughter.

Chuck doubled over guffawing as he pictured all of it in his head, wondering if he might be able to convince Larry to go pay Tiffany a visit one day…..

"He ever end up in your trunk?" He asked, imaging Blue pulling over and swinging her Louisville slugger at the horny entity.

"Pssh. As if he would dare! Hell to the no has that oversexed Casper-the-overfriendly-ghost ever ended up in my car. I wish a mutherfucker would," Blue scoffed, making Chuck grin knowingly.

_That's my girl…_

"So what's their incentive to behave? I mean… they are dead. What exactly can you do to them?" He asked her.

Blue looked uncomfortable for a moment, lighting a cig to avoid answering immediately. This conversation was getting a bit close to home for her; did she really want Chuck to know everything about her? What would he think then? What would he say?

"Uh… Earth to Blue? What's the matter?" He asked, seeing that her face had become masked as she continued driving; eyes over-focusing on the road.

"I… I have powers that… help with that sort of thing," She replied awkwardly.

"You don't say…." Chuck replied sarcastically, taking another long swig of coffee to try to cover his annoyance.

"There's a lot of shit that you don't know about me, okay? Like….. weird shit," She said, aiming for some potholes on the path purposefully to jolt the car along with her nerves.

Chuck laughed and shook his head,

"Babe, I think I've seen weird from you before. What are you so scared of anyways? Who the fuck am I gonna tell?" He asked her, motioning to himself as though it were obvious that he'd keep his fuckin mouth shut.

Blue rolled her eyes and shook her head in half sadness and half annoyance as she continued driving, not even really looking for intruders anymore, just driving on auto pilot and smoking her cig, which was all she could do to keep herself in control.

"I'm not talking about the shit that you've seen already," She replied tightly, forks of lightening arcing across the sky striking the wrought iron fence on all four sides of the cemetery simultaneously, throwing them into daylight for a moment; then blackest night as thick clouds ensconced the moon and the beams of their headlights was the only relief for miles. Then the moon was back, like nothing had ever occurred.

Blue stopped the car.

"Here," She said breathily, getting out of the car and beckoning for Chuck to do the same.

He made to follow her to the monument she was approaching, but she held up a hand to stop him.

"Just where you are is fine," Blue said, pausing only to be sure he had listened to her before stepping up to the life-size stone statue of a long forgotten General of one conquest or another and wrenching it from its pedestal with her bare hands before lifting it above her head and hurling it a good hundred feet away. She paused to shake her hair out of her face before summoning the statue back towards her slowly with her telekinesis, levitating it slowly back into place and repairing the damage she had done when she had ripped it down only moments before.

Chuck gaped at her for a moment, unable to fully comprehend what he had just seen before exhaling needlessly.

"There's that, and-

Blue shook a cig out of her pack, put it to her lips, and summoned a small purple flame cupped in her hands and lit it; inhaling deeply with her eyes closed before exhaling a butterfly made of opaque purple smoke.

"What do you use a lighter for then?" Chuck asked nonplussed.

"Huh?" She asked before laughing hard enough to cry.

"What?" He asked, laughing along with her for a moment as she composed herself.

"I just tossed a solid marble statue a mile away, dragged it back into place with nothing but my mind, and repaired the damage I did to it, summoned fire and charmed the smoke into a shape, and all you have to say is 'why do I use a lighter?'…. seriously? That's all you want to know?" Blue asked, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation.

"Well….. that, and I want to know if we can get back into the car now? I'm starting to freeze my nads off here," He joked with a wink much to her chagrin.

"Sure. Fine," Blue said, whipping her door open with a creak.

"Hey, hey, hey; easy on the car." He reminded her as she climbed in, shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

"What? How are you gonna explain to Mort two damaged vehicles in less than two days?" He reasoned.

"Oh, I'd blame this one on you for sure," She replied easily as they pulled off once again.

"Me? It's on the drivers side! What am I doing over there? Pushing the pedals or steering?" He quipped, making her choke on the drag she had just taken.

"Fuck you," She croaked, taking a sip of coffee to try to sooth her abused throat.

"Later." He agreed, loving the way her pupils dilated hungrily at the thought.

"Anyways…. We were talking about powers," She reminded him.

"And suddenly you're in the mood to share," Chuck murmured, eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Oh my God! Is it always gonna be like this with us?" Blue blurted without thinking the question through. Could the earth just fucking swallow her whole? Like, now?

"I hope so," He replied nonchalantly.

"Yeah, you say that now. But-

"But what? A few statues go airborne, purple fires, blood droplets on the kitchen floor, a house falls on my Sister; what?" He interrupts, making her stop the car again and sigh before she looks over at him.

"I can perform exorcism's and seances to banish evil spirits and ghosts that really don't behave. I've had to do a few for Mort in the past. Those were powers that I had when I was still…. Alive. Besides, you don't have a Sister," She said, avoiding his eyes.

"What else could you do? When you were alive, I mean." Chuck asked curiously.

Blue sighed and glanced at him sideways for a moment before answering,

"I had premonitions sometimes, but they weren't always clear. Hard to read….. hard to understand; and in the end they didn't help me." She said in clipped tones, trying like hell to keep her emotions reined in and under control.

"Blue?" He asked softly, he wasn't good at gentleness….. was he? He wasn't sure, but he had never really tried before…

"What?" She asked, more forcefully than she meant to, she hadn't shared any of this with anyone before; even Mort only knew what she wanted him to, and he respected her privacy enough not to ask questions.

"Blue, you don't have to hide around me, okay? I mean….. you said that you looked into my mind, you said that you knew who and what I was when you read my mind to help save me; that means that you know what I am and the things that I've done, both as a human and as a doll. You saw all of that and apparently you accepted it; otherwise I wouldn't still be here with you, right?" Chuck asked soberly, trying to break down the wall she had just built between them.

"Yes, that's true. I mean, its nothing really. I've killed people too; for their blood and to protect myself and others before I came here to settle down. I wouldn't judge you for it anyhow, that's not how life works in my opinion. What else do you want to know about me?" She asked, still slightly guarded, as though she were still on edge no matter what he might say.

"You said that you had these powers when you were human too, but some of them developed after you became an Upir? So, am I going to get some kind of abilities too over time?" He asked, thinking it would relax her if he took the focus from her and applied it to himself for a while.

"You might, but it depends. Each Upir is different, and each of us seems to acquire unique powers and abilities of our own besides what generically comes to all of us, like stealth, strength, enhanced hearing and taste and smell. All Upir's receive those gifts when they change; but other abilities and powers come with time and it usually takes a while for them to appear. Some Upir's receive one gift, others are blessed with a plethora of them, it's really a mystery until the gift chooses to reveal itself in time." Blue explained, more relaxed now as he shifted topic.

"What other gifts have you noticed with other Upir's? I'm guessing there's a reason you mostly keep to yourself as well? Present company excepted, of course." He asked with a smirk.

"I keep to myself because other Upir's tend to be more ostentatious with their eating and killing habits, and I like to stay quiet and settled the way that I am; so I keep my head down and get my blood from a connection at the blood bank that I pay handsomely to keep me in stock. As far as other Upir's abilities are concerned, I've seen some that can turn invisible for a short period of time, others that are psychic, some that can shape shift into animals or trees, and some that can flit longer distances than I can. To be honest, I think that I can hone my flitting ability to travel farther if I wanted to, I just have never kept at it and practiced." She replied with a shrug as the sky lightened and dawn approached.

Blue stopped the car and popped the center console to shuffle through its contents, which happened to be a mixture of her things that Mort transferred from Bessie and Mort's own stuff that he kept in the Hearse for when he transferred bodies from other funeral homes to the cemetery for interment. She finally located her sunglasses and gave them to Chuck since they were smaller than Mort's by far; leave it to Mort to like aviator style frames…..

"Let's go for breakfast vittles, eh?" She asked, craving something greasy and cheesy and decidedly unhealthy (if she were living and things like cholesterol and calories mattered)

"Sure. Are we allowed to do that?" He asked, unused to following rules like this.

"Of course! It's 0600 anyways, so the groundskeeper is gonna come rolling through with his crew any minute now." Blue explained, opening the gates telekinetically and shutting them behind them as they headed out onto the open road.

Chuck shoved the sunglasses on just as the sun began to crest the horizon through the trees and a dull ache began to make itself known behind his eyes.

"Damn, you weren't kidding about the goddamn sun, huh?" He asked, wincing slightly.

"Why don't you lay back and close your eyes? We'll be there in less than five minutes, Okay?" She asked, knowing from experience that the sunlight was shit.

"How can you drive in this?" He asked, shutting his eyes tight and sinking as low into his seat as possible.

"It gets a bit easier the older you get, but sunglasses are always your friend. Breakfast will be from McDonald's, so think about what you want." She said, pushing the Hearse to go to it's max of forty miles an hour as she took the curve past the entrance to the trailer park quickly and made her way towards the suburban side of town.

"McDonald's does more than just mcmuffins and coffee now?" He asked and she almost smacked her head for the umpteenth time.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting that you've missed a lot of time. They have platters with pancakes, eggs, and sausage or mcmuffin sandwiches, steak and egg bagels, mcgriddle sandwiches; which are eggs and bacon or eggs and sausage with pancakes as the bun, and-

"Yeah, Bacon McGriddle and coffee sound awesome," Chuck said quickly, making her shake her head and smile. He squinted one eye open and looked at her questioningly,

"What? I mean, who can resist a damned pancake-bun? I mean, come on!" He insisted as she chuckled softly.

"It's just that I almost always order that too, it's definitely my fav." Blue confessed.

She slowly turned the beast of a Hearse into the drive-thru and ordered their food, watching as Chuck nearly shrank to the floor as she pulled to the second window.

"Here," He said, handing her a twenty and slinking off his seat.

"Uh, Whatcha doin?" She asked curiously.

"Hiding! What do you think?" He replied as she giggled softly.

"Get in your seat and don't worry about it. Trust me," Blue said with a wink as he hopped back up and watched with rapt attention as Blue handed the cashier the money, accepted her change, and moments later took their food and coffee from the woman; who didn't bat an eye in Chuck's direction.

"What the fuck was that? Did she think I was midget? Was she just being polite?" He asked as she handed over his coffee and veered past the Trailer Park again as quick as she could, the sudden silence in the car nearly palpable as random shitty thoughts chased themselves around Blue's brain

_Did he still think about her? _

_Did he still have feelings for her?_

_Does he ever want to go back to her?_

"She didn't say anything because she didn't see you. It's another gift," She replied softly as she wound the hearse back down the road that traversed the cemetery, her thoughts a swirl of confusion.

_He can go wherever he wants, he's a free man after all._

_He's just here right now because he needs some guidance about what YOU turned him into, after that he's off, I'm sure._

_Who would want to stay with me anyway? I'm like washed up Wednesday-fucking-Addams playing security guard at a cemetery. _

_At the end of all of this it's just me and Mort and Cigarettes and booze that barely dulls the fucking ache that everyone you ever cared about is fucking dead….._

"Blue?" Chuck asked for seemingly the second time.

"Huh? Sorry, I was just lost in thought for a minute," She cleared her throat and pushed harder on the fucking gas to no avail as the damned speedometer hovered firmly over forty.

"Where'd you go? You looked so sad for a minute that I thought you-

"I'm fine, really. Just hope we get back before the granite company blocks the damned driveway," Blue laughed nervously, knowing damned well that he didn't buy that for shit because she didn't even try to sell it half-assed.

"Looks like its just the landscape guys. They waiting for Mort I'm assuming?" Chuck asked, letting her off the hook, much to her relief.

"Yeah, I don't know why they insist on showing up so damned early. Mort never drags his ass out here until eight; he is not a morning guy," Blue laughed, slowing down a bit and pointing to what Chuck thought was some kind of tiny service road opposite the cemetery gates.

"He lives in there about two miles up the road, that's the closest Mort can stand being to civilization or so he says," She said dryly, turning the hearse back in to the cemetery.

"Can't say I blame him much. It ain't easy being around people unless you can take a few out every now and then," Chuck joked, making her grin and shake her head.

Carlos and the other landscapers waved at them as they drove in and Blue honked and waved back, slowing down to a stop as Carlos approached the hearse.

"Hola Akishla, Senor. My Wife is dropping off the food for the game tonight at your house around Seven, si?" He asked her.

"Oh! Yeah, that works. Are you staying behind to play a hand or two?" Blue asked him, knowing that there was no way Carlos would ever play with them.

He was terrified of ghosts.

"No, no. I have to get up early tomorrow, pero, you guys enjoy." He said and with a wave, they were off again.

"I hope you like steak tacos, guacamole, and pina coladas." She said with a smile as she recalled the menu.

"Hell yeah. Back in Chicago, there were the best Mexican restaurants! Hands down, the food was awesome," He replied as Blue parked in front of the coach house and they got out with their breakfast.

"Yeah, the one on 26th where you and Eddie used to eat at almost every weekend?" Blue blurted without thinking as she plucked the information from her brain reflexively.

_Fuck!_

Blue rammed her key in the lock and got the door open in record timing as he stood there gaping at her for the second time in less than twelve hours.

"Just forget that I said that, okay?" She squeaked, putting her coffee down on the kitchen table and unpacking their McGriddles and hashbrowns.

"So, you're reading my mind again?" He asked her curiously.

"No. Some other stuff got through the first time I did it, when I was trying to figure out what… what she did to fuck up the spell," Blue winced.

Why couldn't she bring herself to say her name?

Tiffany.

His Ex.

The thought of it made her blood boil unnecessarily.

_Take a pill Rainieri…._

"Stuff like what?" He asked, but he didn't sound angry as they sat down and dug into their food.

"I don't know. Random stuff I guess," Blue shrugged as he groaned when he bit into a McGriddle for the first time.

"This is freaking delicious. Come on, what random stuff?" Chuck pressed, enjoying her squirming.

It was cute.

"Like… maybe everything? But, I don't really have access to it the way that I would my own memories. When you mentioned Mexican food in Chicago, that info just popped into my brain at random and I puked out the memory, like you saw." She said hurriedly, wishing for the millionth time in her life that the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

There was definitely a reason that she was single…

Chuck laughed and shook his head; never a dull moment with this girl…..

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-

"It's fine," He said, and he meant it.

"It is so NOT fine," Blue replied with a sigh, unable to fully meet his gaze.

"It is fine. Really," He assured her, though internally he was wondering why he wasn't panicking; but this was _Blue _after all, not some weird bitch from his past that would use any information they could gather against him.

This wasn't _Tiffany _for Christ's sake….

"It would be nice though…. If you eventually let me in a little too," Chuck said slowly, and he realized that he meant it.

Blue looked up and met his eyes and she looked so fucking vulnerable in that moment; as though he had asked her to cut off an arm and hand it to him.

"Eventually," He repeated, and then somehow they were in each other's arms again.

The warm familiar taste of coffee and sugar and pancakes and Blue herself bewitching his senses all over again.

Chuck was nipping her full lips and pushing beyond them all over again, his tongue taking control as she submitted to him completely, sighing in frustration that they were still in the fucking kitchen.

"Want you," He panted, nipping down her jaw to her ear to her throat.

"Chuck….." Blue shuddered and moaned, her hands working their way into his hair before she transported them to their bed again and he was pulling her shirt and bra out of the way impatiently to wrap his lips and tongue around as much of her breast as he could, suckling desperately.

He ground his erection into her thigh, and she let out a wanton cry when she felt him pressed against her.

"I need you," Blue murmured, their clothes transporting to different parts of the room as she lost control of even her basic abilities.

Chuck growled low in his chest as he thrust into her once again, the animal inside of him purring when he buried himself in her core over and over.

"Blue…." He sighed, feeling himself unravel slowly as he fucked her deeper, he wanted her in ways that he couldn't describe.

She moaned again and clutched at his back, nails digging in again to crisscross older scratches from their previous couplings.

"Feel so fucking good…." He husked, teeth raking over her soft flesh and drawing blood only to lave his tongue over the fresh wounds, relishing the sweet tang of scarlet nectar.

Chuck hissed as he changed angles again, lifting her hips easily and grinding the head of his dick into her cervix. He could've sworn that he was harder and harder every time he fucked her…..

"Please…." Blue begged softly, guiding his mouth to a large vein just above her left breast.

He bit down as he thrust into her; fangs piercing her skin smoothly as he drank in deep pulls from her, not wasting a drop.

Blue was in ecstasy as he made her cum for him again and again, his Upir strength building and developing further as he pressed her into the mattress; pinning her wrists and making her see stars.

He wasn't sure how long they had made love, or when they had fallen into an exhausted heap tangled in each other's arms, but the doorbell ringing startled them both awake and Blue wriggled out from under him to snatch her phone up, cursing when she saw the time.

"Stay here," She said, snatching her robe off the back of the door and wrapping it around herself as she flit down the stairs and to the front door.

Chuck dragged himself out of bed behind her, hovering at the top of the stairs in the dark to make sure whoever was at the door wasn't going to fuck with her,

"Hey Girl, I brought the food! Oh shit, I'm sorry! Did I wake you?" The woman asked in concern.

_Ah, Carlos' wife with the food….._

Chuck shrugged and lowered his hackles, retreated to the bathroom to take a leak and hop in the shower.

"It's fine Linda, I can't believe I slept this late! We can just pack it into the hearse, I gotta get over there as soon as I throw some clothes on anyways," Blue replied, snatching the keys to said vehicle up and making to assist Linda in unpacking her car.

"Just gimme the keys mama, I got it. You go ahead and get ready I'll just leave them on top of the trunk for you." Linda said with a kind smile.

"Thanks! I owe you one," She sighed as she ran back inside and flitted up the stairs, whipping her robe off and jumping into the shower behind Chuck as they both began laughing.

"How the fuck is it already ten after seven?!" She asked him as he passed her the soap.

"How the hell should I know? It was barely after dawn when we got up here," He reminded her as he rinsed off and jumped out, wrapping a towel around himself to search for some clothes.

Blue quickly followed him out five minutes later, pulling on a bra and panties and rifling through her closet for a black band shirt and a long black skirt. She tugged on her trusty black combat boots as usual before hurriedly tossing on blood-red lipstick and black eyeliner.

Chuck refrained from telling her that she didn't really need any make up in the first place; he had learned that that was a losing battle at least two girlfriends ago, so he kept his trap shut.

She tugged on her leather jacket and he pulled on a black hoodie before they raced out to the hearse just as her phone rang.

"I'm coming, I swear. Be there in five," She answered as she snatched the keys off of the trunk and unlocked the car.

"Heya, no problem. Just making sure my dinner was on its way," He joked, making her roll her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure that you're starved." Blue replied sarcastically as she honked her horn impatiently at more zombie geese.

"Take it easy, they're walking as fast as they can," Mort snorted, causing her to narrow her eyes in annoyance.

"They have fucking _wings._ Not to mention that their bedtime is sundown! The sun is down, so they should be too. I thought these bastards all flew south for the winter, winter is in like two months tops, what are they waiting on? Air fair?" She asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

"See you in five, Sunshine." He replied, disconnecting the call as Chuck shook with silent laughter.

"What?" She asked him as she turned onto the main road that would bring them to the gate.

"Geeze! Nothing….. you're just awfully tense right now." He replied, voice cracking a bit as he fought to keep his composer.

"Yeah, you would be tense too if you had been woken up from your post-sex coma by fucking tacos." Blue snipped before dissolving in a fit of laughter.

"Hey, I was rudely awakened by those same tacos alright? Take it easy, at least we have food to refuel on." Chuck joked as they sped across the road to the smaller one she had shown him earlier.

Then he broke into an entirely new fit of laughter as they drove through the trees.

"What is it now?" She asked curiously.

"The next fuckin body or casket or whatever the fuck is gonna smell like tacos and fucking guacamole," He choked out between crippling laughter, making Blue join him in a fit of giggles.

"Oh my God, what is wrong with you? You're fucking nuts!" She guffawed, trying to get the image out of her head.

"No really, can you picture it? Everyone dressed in black, but wearing those nacho hats with guac and salsa? People crunching and munching during the fuckin eulogy." He snickered, tears rolling down his cheeks as they pulled into the circular driveway of Mort's impressive manor house.

"Charles Lee Ray, you are going straight to Hell! Do not pass go, do not collect $200, just straight into the goddamn pit," Blue gasped between fits of chortles as she tried to calm herself.

"Hey guys! Lemme help you with the food," Mort said as he jogged up to the hearse, only to have them burst into laughter again.

"What?" Mort asked as Blue tried to compose herself.

"You may want to air the car out before your next customer smells like onions and cilantro," Blue replied, unable to help herself.

"I was planning on it," Mort replied as they followed him inside, where Evie was already perched at the table waiting for their arrival.

An hour into dinner, cards, and Pina Colada's and Mort's lavish mahogany dining room was alive with raucous laughter as books were made back and forth; Chuck and Blue pairing up against Mort and Evie.

"Do you know Charlie, I am in a _very special _part of the cemetery. All of the exciting people are there….. all of the….. how you say? Criminals are there," Evie said proudly, her English getting better with the amount of Pina Colada going through her (literally through her; into a bucket under her chair)

"Criminals? What the hell did you do? Steal Chef Boyardee's secret recipe or what?" Chuck scoffed, shaking his head as Evie pouted and crossed her arms.

"No! I gonna tell you what I did!" She huffed, taking another long sip of her drink as though stealing herself for courage.

Blue winked at Chuck before turning to Evie.

"Vuoi che traduca per te?" She asked innocently (_You want me to translate for you?)_

"No! Aspetta, aspetta! I can tell him, in English…. Well, my best English, I try." Evie replied, drawing herself up and folding her hands on the table before her.

"I kill my Husband and eighty mens, they working with him and when I find out he cheating on me, they die with him. Andato! Ciao ci vendiamo dopo." Evie explained in her broken verbatim proudly.

"Eighty?! As in Eight-Zero?" Chuck exclaimed, making Blue shake with silent mirth at his shock.

"She's got you a little beat, doesn't she Chuck?" Blue asked with a smirk.

"How the fuck did she kill eighty Freakin people? She's so… tiny." He finished lamely, making Blue nearly howl with laughter.

"You should fucking talk! _Tiny. _She set fire to the opera house he was restoring and killed all the workers inside, geeze it wasn't that hard, especially back in her day. It's not like they had any forensics back then!" She reminded him, rolling her eyes as she set her next card down and stacked a book while he shook his head, muttering ' eighty fuckin people' under his breath.

"Yeah, she's pretty much got us all beat Charles; don't feel bad." Mort assured him, wincing as Chuck and Blue stacked another book.

"Shitty hand," Mort sighed.

"I don't know about that, I never really kept count. Should I have?" Chuck asked with a shrug.

"I didn't really keep a count, I just looked back on it later. Nineteen, but just in self defense really." Mort replied, looking at Blue expectantly.

"Uh….. Okay. Forty-two, some in self-defense…. Others because they deserved it," She confessed, gulping down the rest of her pina colada and helping herself to another round from the pitcher.

An awkward silence fell across the table before they all broke into laughter, raising their glasses in salute to one another and the things they had been through.

After Chuck and Blue won the game hands down with eleven books, they took a break to stretch and dig through Mort's liquor cabinet for cocktail ingredients. Blue had wandered out onto Mort's wrap-around veranda for a smoke and Mort joined her while Chuck began blending margarita's

"Things okay?" He asked awkwardly; ever the concerned 'Dad'.

Blue turned towards him and smiled softly.

"Yeah, everything's great." She replied, surprised that for once, she meant it.

"Good. What about the end of next month?" He asked regretfully, sad that he had to broach the topic at all.

Blue froze, her shoulders tense as she flicked her cigarette butt away and hugged herself tightly; trying to keep all of her pieces together.

"He doesn't have to know," She whispered, her eyes downcast as she shivered slightly; though it had little to do with the cold.

"How are you going to keep it from him? You guys seem pretty much like a unit now, you go everywhere together. He's with you every night, all the time." Mort pointed out, trying to be the voice of reason for her.

"We'll figure something out to keep him distracted. Throw one of your card nights, but send me on an errand or something, I'll tell him that it's a favor I have to do for you and that I have to do it alone; I don't know." Blue murmured desperately, trying to figure out when and how her life had gotten this complicated.

"Okay, but he's going to go back to the house and—

"I'll hide out in one of the mausoleums, he won't find me." She replied as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Akishla, you should tell him. At least think about it from his perspective, wouldn't you want to be there with him if roles were reversed?" Mort persisted, trying to talk some semblance of sense into her head.

"You make it sound like he loves me," Blue scoffed bitterly.

"What if he does? It certainly looks like it from where I'm standing," He said somberly as Blue bowed her head and he wrapped a paternal arm around her, almost as though he were trying to absorb some of her pain….


	8. Chapter 8: An Explanation

**Chapter 8:**

Chuck rolled over with a groan and squinted his eyes open slowly, smiling lazily as he was met with the waves of deep sapphire and indigo of Blue's hair that was splayed wildly across her pillow. He could recall foggy details of how they had gotten back last night (or rather early in the morning), Blue had transported them to the front porch of their house because she had been too inebriated to drive. They had both laughed because she had meant to transport them straight to their room but had gone a bit off-kilter and ended up outside. He remembered helping her with the keys and stumbling up the stairs and collapsing on the bed; both of them struggling to remove shoes and her jacket and his hoodie, which had apparently led to more being removed too…

He couldn't remember much other than foggy caresses and kisses and moans; their usual activities of late.

Chuck got out of bed and tugged his discarded jeans back on before heading to the bathroom to take a piss and brush his teeth.

When he tugged on a t-shirt and Blue still hadn't stirred, he checked the time on her cell before plugging it into its charger and heading to the kitchen to make them coffee and something to eat.

Three in the afternoon still gave them a lot of wiggle room before they had to start their shift.

Chuck took a pack of blood out of the fridge and paused, his newfound instincts urging him to drink it as a dull thirst had begun making itself known at the back of his throat. He opened the dishwasher and removed one of the clean metal straws from the silverware strainer, jabbing it carefully into the bag before gingerly taking a sip.

Then without warning, an urgent thirst took hold of him and he drank in deep pulls until he drained the bag dry.

He stood there for a moment as he felt a renewed surge of energy pulse through him before he shook off the odd sensation and made coffee, popping a couple of pre-marinated steaks onto the broiler along with some skewered veggies before sitting down and flicking on Blue's laptop.

She had given him the website where she had bought his clothes and gave him a quick tutorial about using her computer a couple days ago, so he figured he would kill some time productively and fill out the rest of his wardrobe.

Half and hour later, steaks and veggies were done; and he had ordered more t-shirts, jeans, shoes, underwear, socks, and toiletries. Chuck had wanted to get Blue something unique as a thank you gift for everything she had done for him; especially since she had firmly refused his offer to pay her back for the clothes that she had ordered for him.

After a quick whispered conversation with Mort the night before, His boss had given him a website to look for called Pandora and had suggested that Chuck create a charm bracelet for her from there.

"Okay….. so this should be easy." He muttered sarcastically as he heard her begin to move around in their room upstairs.

Picking out the initial bracelet was easy enough, but Chuck almost panicked at the thought of what kind of beads he should design it with. Mort had explained that the idea was not to fill the entire bracelet up right away, that he should leave space to build on it.

He smirked when he saw a tombstone bead and added that to his cart right away, along with a bead that looked like an old-fashioned car (and reminded him of Bessie the night that Blue had saved his ass). Further along the page, there were beads for different professions; and he spotted a Caduceus bead that was in the medical profession section, which he added to the cart next. Chuck then spotted a coffee cup bead and added it next as he heard the shower turn on, knowing that he only had a few more minutes to spare before she made her way down in search of said coffee as was their normal routine.

Lastly, he typed the word 'blue' in the search bar and dozens of sparkling blue crystal beads popped up on the screen, but one in particular caught his eye and he thought that it just might assuage her ongoing doubts about where they stood.

He added a silver heart bead studded with dark blue sapphires to the cart last and checked out just as she was making her way down the steps slowly, her eyes half-lidded and her long azure hair still damp.

"Hey," He greeted as he closed the page and deleted the Pandora site from the browser history, just as Mort had instructed him to do.

"Porn?" She joked as he closed the laptop.

"Clothes shopping actually; I have all the woman I need right here, thank you very much." He replied as she kissed him 'good morning' and poured herself a mug of coffee.

"I am so sorry! I was so fucking out of it last night," She apologized as she pulled the steaks and veggies out and made them each a plate.

"Uh, I think we were both fucking out of it. I clearly recall asking you to 'beam me up, Scotty' when it was time to come home," He snorted, making her double over with laughter.

"Yeah….. I remember that too, which is why I fucked up and landed us on the porch instead of upstairs." Blue said pointedly before they both laughed again as they dug into their very late breakfast.

"How do you think Mort's holding up?" He asked, trying and failing to recall the state that their boss had been in when they came home.

"He's fine, jerk texted us all these hangover meme's." Blue showed him her phone and he groaned.

"Plus, the hearse is back outside." She said with a shrug, knowing that Mort had probably made Carlos drive it over here for them.

"I noticed," Chuck replied, shaking his head.

"Thanks for breakfast, but you didn't have to let me sleep in. You should've woke me up," Blue sighed as she set their plates down.

"Would've interrupted the porn," He deadpanned, making her stick her tongue out at him and kick his foot under the table.

He studied her face for a moment as her cheeks flushed in either shyness or embarrassment that she was trying to mask when a sudden question flitted across his mind again.

"How are you able to do that? I mean, we don't have heartbeats, so blood flow…? I mean…" He shrugged curiously.

"Yeah, leave it to a guy not to wonder how he can still pop a boner and just be happy that he can. I was wondering when you were going to ask me about how blood flow still happens," Blue smirked.

"Well, I have thought about it before…. I was just debating about whether I really wanted to know the answer," He confessed as he cut into his steak and sighed at the taste of the blood and seasoning.

"Did you like science a lot in school? Was it a subject that you were any good in?" She asked.

"Yeah, believe it or not for a delinquent serial killer, I did really good in school." He replied, the underlying bitterness there was palpable.

"I didn't mean it like that. I made my way through medical school and I was terrible at math; I hated it with a passion and I always scraped by in those classes with barely passing grades. If someone were to ask me to solve a calculus or trig problem right now, I'd sooner do shots of battery acid or use a cactus as a dildo." She confessed with a laugh.

"I was good in math; all A's and B's." Chuck replied in an almost apologetic tone.

He was going to have to work on the assumption that someone like Blue was always going to be talking down to him because of what and who he really was.

"Lucky you. It's a shame we couldn't have met sooner, maybe you could have tutored me." She said, getting up to retrieve two shot glasses, some matches, and a clean knife.

"Uh… okay, what are we doing right now?" He asked as she set the shot glasses side by side a few inches apart at her place on the table and handed him the matches.

"You are lighting a match when I tell you to," Blue said, taking the knife and stabbing it into her forearm just above one of her suicide scars.

"Fuck! What the hell are you doing?!" Chuck exclaimed, jumping out of his seat so fast his chair fell backwards.

"Match," She replied, nodding to the box in his hand as she collected a fair amount of her blood before the stab wound healed itself.

He fumbled with the box for a moment before striking a match with slightly trembling hands and holding it out to her.

"Hold it over the blood as close as you can get without extinguishing the flame," She instructed, tossing the knife in the sink.

Chuck did as she said quizzically; only to jump slightly and gasp when an opaque and iridescent nectar-like fluid began to separate itself from the blood and raise itself slowly to the lip of the shot glass and jump haphazardly into the empty shot glass to safety away from the flame.

Like it was alive.

The blood that remained in the original glass instantly congealed and dried to a rusted brown color, while the iridescent substance curled up into the bottom of glass before crawling up the side of it to the lip and stretching out above the rim; as though it were searching for something.

Blue rinsed the knife off and cut her arm in the same place, offering the newly made gash in her arm to the seemingly living substance; and Chuck watched mesmerized as it leapt from the glass and seeped back into her wound before the gash re-healed itself once again.

"What the fuck was that?" He breathed; eyes wide.

"That's the venom that saved your life; that's what makes us Upir's" She replied softly.

"But….. its alive, right?" He asked, righting his chair and slowly retaking his seat.

"Yes, it's alive and it's what keeps _us _alive. This kind of venom has been around for countless centuries; at least as long as humanoids have lived, and it requires a host in order to survive." She explained, knowing that this information would either be absorbed scientifically and logically, or He would buck and run.

"So it's parasitic in nature?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, but we live symbiotically with the 'parasite' for lack of a better term. The Venom feeds on blood and uses it to move around the body and helps us create some semblance of warmth as well as bruising, blushing, erections, etc. It can sense where we need it directed at any given time; which is also how it helps us to heal supernaturally fast. The Venom requires us to be whole and healthy at all times usually, so it works to keep our bodies in the best of health." Blue replied, taking the glasses and knife to the sink.

"Usually? Are there any circumstances where the venom wouldn't heal us?" Chuck asked, quirking a brow as her shoulders stiffened slightly.

"You would never need to worry about that, in your case the venom would always heal you…. Because of how you were made." Blue said, taking her plate and dumping the rest of her food in the trash.

She wasn't hungry anymore.

"What about you? Is it different for you? Because of the suicide?" He asked with concern.

Blue's posture went ridged, and before Chuck could say anything else the kitchen window shattered, exploding inward in a thousand razor sharp pieces.

She took the brunt of the glass debris in her right arm and the right side of her face; Chuck was spared any damage as he was seated furthest from the window.

"Blue! Oh fuck! Come here," He stammered urgently when he saw the extent of the glass embedded in her skin.

"I have to go. I'm so, so sorry. I have to go," She said, her arm dripping blood and venom as she made to rush passed him towards the door.

"What?! No, come here and let me help you!" He argued, grabbing her uninjured arm to stop her.

"Nobody can fucking help me! Don't you get it? Nobody!" She shouted, causing the lights to flicker and the kitchen table to fly across the room and slam into the refrigerator with a shrill screech and bang.

"Okay, it's okay, just calm down. Stay here with me so we can get the glass out," He said imploringly, trying to lock eyes with her so she could at least see his sincerity.

One of the shot glasses exploded in the sink and the knife rose feebly and hovered in the air.

"I can't! Please let me go, when I lose control… I could hurt you. I'm….. I'm dangerous like this." She gasped pleadingly.

"Just close your eyes and take a deep breath. Trust me," He said, seeing the knife already slowly descending back into the sink as she complied finally.

"Chuck-"

"Let's go upstairs and get your med kit," He interrupted, taking her hand and leading her to the steps carefully; mindful of the stray glass crunching under their feet.

Much to his relief, she had become completely complacent as he lead her back to their room and sat her on the edge of the bed.

He dug the med kit from the closet and set it on the nightstand before quickly washing his hands in the bathroom sink and taking out a set of tweezers and sliding the ashtray closer to his reach.

"I can do it," She murmured quietly, making to take the tweezers from him; but he pulled back.

"Just lay down and let somebody take care of you for a change, okay?" He asked, seeing her hesitate for a moment before she complied, carefully laying down on her back.

Chuck got to work on her cheek and jaw first, carefully tugging out the glass slivers and watching as the venom healed the shallow cuts only seconds later. He tried to gage her emotions, but she appeared to be calm as he continued to her arm; her eyes were closed, and she remained completely still. Belatedly, he wondered if she had fallen asleep when he took a clean washcloth from the bathroom and ran warm water over it to clean the remaining blood from her face and arm.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, her voice cracking slightly from thirst.

"Shhh, lemme grab you some blood. Just rest," He replied, running back down towards the kitchen before changing direction and heading to the walk-in cooler instead.

He took two bags down at random and snatched one of the many steel straws that were stored in a container nearby for convenient use.

When he returned to their room, Blue had curled into a fetal position beneath the blanket.

"You need to drink this," He said, stabbing the straw into the bag carefully and handing it to her.

She took it without argument and drained it in under a minute, taking the second bag from him and emptying its contents as well.

"You should probably rest now," He said, running his hand through her hair softly.

"What time is it?" She asked, plucking her phone out of her pocket.

"Don't worry about it, I can patrol by myself tonight." Chuck said with a shrug.

"How? You can't drive." Blue reminded him.

"I got legs; I can walk it if nothing else." He said, suddenly thinking about ordering a sling shot online to pop off a couple of those annoying fucking geese…..

"Chuck, the cemetery is 350 acres. We're lucky we can drive across it every night," She giggled, sounding more like herself again as she reached for the remote to turn on Netflix.

"Babe just rest, you look like you're drained right now," He said as she flicked on AHS again and settled in under the covers; patting the spot beside her in silent invitation.

"This shits gonna give you nightmares…. Daymares? It's gonna fuck up your sleep." He teased, making her tug him closer as he settled in beside her.

"Nah, scary stories are pretty relaxing actually." Blue confessed sleepily, her eyes drooping shut as she nuzzled in closer to him.

Chuck made sure that she was asleep before he snatched her phone, switched it to silent, and texted Mort.

_Mort it's Chuck. Blue had some kind of a telekinetic episode a few minutes ago and she was trying to leave but I got her to stay here and take a nap, it looked like it took a lot out of her. Has this happened before? Is there something that I should do?_

He had barely sent the message off before Mort replied;

_Is she okay? Yes, it happens sometimes when she's upset. Has she had any blood yet? Blood and sleep usually help immensely. I can have someone fill in for patrol tonight if needed?_

Chuck shook his head before replying;

_You kidding me? She'll kill us both if she knows I tattled on her to you. Don't worry, I'm going to keep an eye on her and I'll let you know if anything changes._

He plugged the phone in to charge and tried to tiptoe away, but Blue stirred and called out in a language he had never heard before; and the combination of the sadness in her voice and the grief in her eyes halted him in his tracks.

"What is it?" He asked as she realized her slip up and looked confused.

"What time is it?" She asked, squinting her eyes in the lamplight.

"It's just after five, you've been asleep ten minutes tops. I'm uh….. gonna go clean up the kitchen," He said awkwardly as she settled back against the pillows.

"Don't bother. I can do it a lot faster later; just chill until it's time to go." She replied, wrapping the blanket more tightly around herself.

Blue tried to relax back into a restful sleep, but after tossing and turning for the next quarter of an hour; she sat up and tossed the covers off.

"Told ya this shit would fuck up your sleep," Chuck joked as the next episode of AHS began to queue up automatically.

"No, it's fine." She replied, curling onto her side to face him.

"Seriously though, I could go downstairs, and you might be able to fall asleep. You look like you need some rest," He said, flicking off the TV.

"Is that a nice way of telling me that I look like shit?" She chortled, hitting him with a pillow.

"Blue?" He asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"What?" She said as he inched closer to her face.

"You look like shit," He replied, laughing as he dodged a second blow from the pillow easily; catching one wrist and then the other. They both laughed as she submitted easily enough to him as he kissed and nipped her lips gently before settling in beside her under the blanket.

"I feel like shit," She confessed, pulling him closer to her.

"You should just stay in tonight; maybe Evie can come and hang out with you, like a chick night or something," He suggested.

Blue looked at him as though he had slapped her face.

"You take that back this instant! Are you fucking kidding me? Evie is a pain in the ass! Fucking anal sans lube for Christ's sake. Just because we use her as a fourth for spades-

"So I'm getting the feeling that you don't really care for her much," He interrupted as she rolled her eyes.

"I am perfectly capable of performing my job duties tonight! God, I didn't mean to scare you that bad with the whole window and table thing." Blue sighed.

"Uh, you didn't scare me. I'm just….. ya know, making sure we don't crash into a tree later or some shit." He replied nonchalantly; because it's not like he _cared. _He didn't. Really.

"Besides, I don't want to take off two days. Mort already gave us off for the concert," She reminded him.

"I'm sure that he wouldn't flip his lid if you weren't feeling well, but its up to you."

Blue awoke from her nap a couple of hours later well rested, putting her shoes on and snatching her phone off its charger.

Repairing the kitchen window was an easy task after blood and rest; as well as getting the table and chairs back into place.

Chuck brewed coffee for them for the road as usual, filling their travel thermos and heading out the door as Blue grabbed her keys from the coffee table and followed him to the Hearse.

She checked her phone for missed calls or messages from Mort and she froze as she sat in the drivers seat and closed her door.

There were messages from her phone to Mort's and back again that she didn't recall; and then she read the conversation more carefully before jamming the key into the ignition with far more force than she meant to.

"You fucking told Mort? What is your damage?!" She hissed, stomping onto the accelerator and peeling away from their house, scattering gravel and geese in their wake.

"What? What do you mean 'what's my damage?' Was I supposed to know how to help you after something like that on my own? Because you're the one that neglected to share that you lose control like that so bad that it nearly drains you!" He scoffed, lighting a cigarette to keep from punching the dash.

"That has nothing to do with you! What do you care anyways?" Blue demanded, taking a corner so sharply that the suspension squeaked to compensate.

"I don't!" Chuck exclaimed, wincing inwardly before it was even past his lips.

Blue fell silent then, reaching out and flipping the radio on; connecting her phone to the Bluetooth in the car, blaring Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie in turns loud enough to make the windows rattle in their frames.

They drove like that for a good hour; Chuck not looking at her as they both smoked cigarette after cigarette, each looking out of their separate windows on the pretense that they were only looking for intruders and not ignoring the others presence.

Blue saw a flash of light out of the corner of her eye and stomped on the brake so hard that he nearly flew out of his seat.

He looked over at her to ask her what the fuck had happened, but the tears trailing down her cheeks combined with running eyeliner stopped him short.

"Blue, wha-

But she was out of her seat and out of the car faster than he could blink.

Then he spotted the flashlights ahead and ran from the car to follow her with his poker.

"Shit," He cursed, seeing that she had gotten much farther ahead of him than he would have liked for her safety.

Not to mention the fact that she was unarmed.

Blue flitted to the flashlights easily, the sound of rapid pulses, the smell of cheap beer, the sound of something metal striking stone.

She smiled through her drying tears when she recognized Brad and Chad.

"You know…. I was so hoping that I'd see you boys again," She sighed, trailing her jacket past her shoulders and dropping it to the grass.

"Awe Chad look! It's the fairy goth again," Brad slurred, dropping the length of pipe he had been using to behead a few cherubim.

"Oh yeah…. You lonely sweetheart?" Chad asked with bleary eyes.

"I got something to keep you nice and warm," Brad said with a smile.

"Indeed you do," She agreed, moving forward to sink her fangs into his jugular so fast she heard his neck snap.

Chuck dropped the poker and leapt the last five feet into the air to take down Chad, enhanced strength breaking the unfortunate jocks clavicle on the way down as his fangs easily found purchase in the dark.

He was so distracted with making his first kill as an Upir and enjoying his consequential meal that he temporarily lost himself in the taste of young vital blood, only coming to when he heard Blue speak again.

"Forty-Three," She murmured, dragging the cadaver back towards the hearse behind her with one hand.

Chuck dropped Chad's body and turned off both flashlights in the grass, leaving them and the length of pipe by the random headstone they had been vandalizing only moments before.

He thought that dragging a body that was three times bigger than he was would present some kind of difficulty, but the teen felt as though he barely weighed five pounds as he dragged him by the collar of his letterman's jacket to the back of the hearse where Blue was unceremoniously cramming Brad into the casket compartment of the car.

Blue didn't hesitate as she grabbed Chad next and tossed his body face down on top of Brad's.

"Good fucking riddance," She muttered darkly, slamming the door and returning to her seat in the car; music still blaring away as they both lit another cigarette.

Blue sped off towards the crematorium to lighten their load, the silence between them thick enough to cut with a knife.

She parked around back when they arrived, levitating the two corpses into the building easily while Chuck waited for her in the car; trying to think of how the fuck he was going to fix this.

Twenty minutes later, she returned to the car; all signs of her running eyeliner gone as she pulled off in the direction of the lake once more, continuing their route as usual. He tried to think of exactly what he should say to her to try to mend the situation, but the silence between them muddled his brain and everything he thought of seemed to sound ridiculous or disingenuous.

"I told Mort because I was worried about you; I wasn't trying to tattle on you or anything." He finally confessed, not knowing how else to begin the conversation.

"I thought you didn't care, which is fine. I don't need anybody to care about me; I've been alone for a long time and have gotten by just fine that way." She said, turning the music down a bit so she didn't have to shout her response.

"Listen, all this shit is pretty new to me. I've been with people before; but nobody that I actually gave a fuck about. I don't know how to act around you, Blue. You're like this once in a lifetime, holy grail, Guinness book miracle that just fell into my fucking lap out of nowhere and I don't even know how to handle it." Chuck replied, at a loss for anything else to say.

"What are you trying to tell me?" Blue asked softly, glancing at him as she drove.

"That I suck at apologizing to people," He shrugged, not meeting her eyes as he gazed out his window into the darkness.

"I'd have never guessed," She deadpanned, huffing a laugh and shaking her head.

"I carry it well," He said self-assuredly.

Blue rolled her eyes and smirked, sipping their favorite extra sweet and creamy coffee. 

"Mort doesn't ask questions when random ashes appear in the crematorium?" Chuck asked, attempting to change subjects with subtlety.

"Not when he already knows the answer," She replied.

"I can see more and more why you like this job," Chuck said, thinking about how convenient it was to ditch a body here…..

"I don't kill all of the time, obviously. It's a rarity, to be honest. This is a quiet place; you can't have too many people disappearing here in case they're missed. Those two assholes will be easy; cops have dealt with them before a few times including once here obviously; so they'll more than likely be considered troubled teen runaways. But we always have to be careful, in a pinch my powers can help dissuade anyone who comes poking around, but I have to be cautious when using them. Sometimes…. They can be unpredictable." Blue said softly, a faraway look in her eyes that made Him worry for her all over again.

"Blue? Is everything alright?" He asked curiously; she seemed to be driving on autopilot now.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She shrugged, clearing her throat and turning onto the stretch of mausoleums where Evie lived.

"That's the first time you've ever lied to me outright, I think." Chuck said wryly.

Blue sighed and pulled over as it began to drizzle lightly; turning the wipers on their laziest setting.

"Chuck, if I told you….. all of the shit that was on my mind right now, you'd think that I was fucking crazy." She said, taking a sip of coffee from their thermos and wrapping her jacket a bit more tightly around herself.

"I already know that you're crazy; and it's more than obvious that I'm crazy. Each of our craziness cancels the others concern of that fact out. It's just been the last couple of days, that you've seemed to get more and more…preoccupied with something; and you've been trying to shut me out of whatever is wrong, but it's obvious that I'm here with you, so I'm in this with you, whether you want me to be or not. So what gives?" He asked bluntly as the rain picked up to a full downpour.

"Mort kind of said the same thing….. well, something like it anyways. That I should tell you….. but Mort doesn't really understand how complicated this is for me; even I don't fully understand it." Blue said thoughtfully.

"Are you pregnant or something?" He asked suddenly.

"What?! No! Jesus Christ, why is it that whenever a woman has some kind of issue going on people always assume she's knocked up?" She huffed, lighting a cigarette and sucking the smoke in as deep as it would go.

"Because we've been fucking like rabbits, that's why." Chuck replied, almost proudly.

Blue elbowed him, but not nearly as hard as she could have as her cheeks pinkened and she looked away as though she could see past the downpour that blurred the windshield.

Her cellphone pinged and she smiled, reading a message from Mort as she had predicted before she picked up the phone.

"He wants us to wait out the storm; we aren't likely to have any trespassers in this weather anyways. Besides, the hearse barely has positraction." She said, her fingers fidgeting with a few stray threads on her jacket.

"So, what gives?" He repeated, not letting her wiggle off the hook.

She squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled a rush of unneeded breath, a million images flying by in quick succession behind her eyelids; like a movie she didn't want to see.

"Can…..can you please just give me some time? Can't we just…" Blue gestured between them, at a loss for words.

"Yeah, we can continue the bone-a-thon for now." He laughed, breaking the tension as she burst into giggles; eyes watering and hair curtaining her face in her embarrassment.

"Yeah, that among other things. I mean, whatever else it is we have going on." She sniffed softly, trying to compose herself.

Outside of the hearse in the storm, Evie's eyes narrowed calculatingly as she watched Charles and Akishla laughing and talking within the car; an idea forming in the back of her envious mind.

In Evie's opinion, the last thing the blue-haired Gypsy filth deserved was happiness of any kind.


	9. Chapter 9: Snacks and Concerts

**Chapter 9: Snacks and Concerts**

"What the _fuck?" _Blue groaned as her cell phone and the doorbell rang simultaneously, waking them both from a blissful and coital sleep.

"Want me to grab the door?" Chuck asked with a snicker.

"Uh, no. I actually need the UPS guy to come here willingly with our shit." She replied, tossing him the phone as she yanked her robe on and flitted down the stairs.

"Hello?" Chuck answered, untangling his legs from the blanket and expecting to hear Mort's voice on the other end.

"Oh, uh…. Is Akishla there?" An unfamiliar male voice asked.

Chuck felt his skin crawl and his blood begin to boil.

"Who is this?" He asked, unable to completely keep the malice from his tone.

"It's Robert…. I'm just a friend of hers dude, no sweat. Me and my girl are heading to town for a visit is all,"

That's when it clicked.

_That Rob._

"Yeah, she's here. You sound a lot different when you aren't growling into a microphone," Chuck replied as he walked down the steps in time to see Blue stacking packages on the table in the kitchen.

Robert laughed in response.

"Yeah, I get that all the time." He said as Chuck handed over the phone.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked, motioning to a stack of packages that were addressed to a 'Chuck Ray'.

"Dude, I am so fucked right now," Rob replied anxiously, running a hand through his dreads.

"Why? What happened?" Blue asked, ripping open a package and smiling when she saw the candles and incense she had ordered had come in.

"We got really wasted last night and Sheri killed John 5; fucking drank him dry and the concert is tomorrow. I need your help," He said in a rush, making Blue gape.

"How long has he been dead? Where's the body? Why the fuck would you hire a human guitarist?!" She exclaimed, face-palming at his naivety. Sheri couldn't ever control herself when she was drunk or high….

"Body is on the bus; he's been dead about ten hours or so. What do I do man? I need you to do that venom thing to reverse it," Rob said shakily, glancing back at the corpse sprawled across his couch.

"Uh, it isn't that simple! 'That venom thing that I do' will turn him into an Upir. Did he even know what the fuck the two of you were?! Not to mention that ten hours is a long fucking time, Rob. He'll need a good 48 to 72 hours to come back. Concert cancelled," She rolled her eyes and cut open the next box with more force than she meant to, scattering Styrofoam peanuts across the table.

"I can't cancel the concert! You know the venue I book is only available for a limited time and I've got Upir and Vamps coming from all over the globe," He sighed, pacing his tour bus irritably.

"So what, are you gonna just play sans guitar?" Blue asked, non-plussed.

"That's the other thing that I was gonna kind of ask you…" Rob trailed off, wincing.

"What?" She pressed, the silence on the other end of the line irking her nerves.

"Well, you played and sang your way through college and part of med school, so—

"No! Are you fucking insane?! What is your damage?!" Blue interrupted, staring at the phone in her hand as though it were going to reach out and bite her.

"Come on, it's one night. I'll pay you whatever you want, I just need your help. We've had a few jam sessions after the shows and you're great; just this once. I wouldn't ask if I wasn't fucked and desperate," He said as Sheri buried her head in her hands in the passenger seat.

Blue dropped into a chair at the table and met Chuck's eyes with a mixture of frustration and pleading.

"Would you mind putting some coffee on? Please?" She asked as she heard Rob rattling around his tour bus, waiting for an answer.

"Sure Babe," He shrugged, stuffing a small box into the pocket of his hoodie and busying himself with the coffee pot.

"Listen, I know most of your material, but I'm rusty as fuck. Get the bus over here and park behind my house; I'll get John 5 started with the venom and we can go over what you want to do. Don't blame me if it sucks though." Blue said grudgingly.

"Great! Listen, I owe you big time. Anything that you want, okay? I'll see you soon," The line cut, and she dropped her phone onto the table and sighed.

"Fuck," Blue grumbled, heading to the fridge and pulling four bags of blood out at random; two for each of them.

"You never told me that you sang your way through college," Chuck said curiously, causing Blue to stab the metal straw through her bag of blood with more force than she meant to.

"I had a scholarship, but it didn't pay for everything. I sang and played guitar and violin; lent myself out freelance to anyone that was looking for a musician, really. I had a lot of different gigs; concerts, weddings, festivals, all kinds of shit." She confessed, not really wanting to think about her life prior to her change.

"Okay, so why do you look like you've just been punched in the gut? People pay their way through school doing all types of shit. I worked at a bookstore and sold dope to pay my way through college because child services cuts your ass loose as soon as you graduate high school and I didn't have any rich parents that were going to give me a free ride. Everyone does whatever the fuck they have to do; at least you made an honest living." Chuck shrugged, pushing a cup of coffee and the small box from Pandora towards her nonchalantly as he turned to make his own cup.

Blue's mouth ran dry as she spotted the box beside her cup; and for once it had nothing to do with the thirst that normally plagued her.

"Chuck… what is this?" She asked, her voice nearly a whisper.

"Coffee," He replied, popping a straw into his own bag of blood while his coffee cooled.

He began picking through the clothes he ordered as well as the toiletries in an attempt to distance himself from an awkward situation; he was _not_ accustomed to giving people anything remotely close to a gift.

She swallowed nervously, reaching for the box with shaking hands and opening it slowly, revealing the sterling silver charm bracelet within.

"Charles, this is really beautiful; but I can't accept it. I know how expensive this must have been and-

"I want you to have it." Chuck interrupted firmly, watching as several different emotions chased themselves across her face.

She fingered the heart-shaped charm studded with blue and white Swarovski crystals pensively before moving on to the coffee cup charm, the tombstone charm, the Caduceus charm made her pause and smile softly; before she fingered the old-fashioned car charm and laughed.

"Is this supposed to be Bessie?" She asked wryly, her eyes gleaming with mirth and something else he couldn't quite name.

"Nah, that car has gotta be at least a decade or so newer." He joked, moving his leg reflexively before she was able to kick it beneath the table.

"Would you?" She asked almost shyly, handing him the bracelet and offering her left wrist to him.

There was some unspoken thing passing between them in that moment as he took the bracelet from her and placed it on her wrist.

Blue came around the table to sit beside him, pulling him into a gentle kiss that became more urgently heated as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer.

Chuck growled low in his chest, moaning huskily as he shoved her back further onto the chair; fingers running through her long silky hair.

He lost himself in the feel of her as he ran his hands down her throat, over her breasts, and down her arms; finding her hand and accidently running his thumb along one of the scars on her wrist.

Blue hissed and pulled away abruptly, but Chuck held her hand in his own; gazing into her violet eyes in reassurance.

"Will you stop trying to run from me? These don't bother me," He whispered, glancing down at the thick keloid scarring on her wrist before he planted a soft kiss there, making her sigh and bring his lips back to her own.

_I didn't think they were that pink before. In fact, I know they weren't…._

Chuck made a mental note to ask Mort because he knew that questions about her suicide upset her and he didn't want to trigger a telekinetic reaction again; the last one had drained the hell out of her.

Blue groaned when the doorbell rang, and he climbed off of her with a smirk when he caught the glare in her eyes.

"I'd hate to be the fucker at the door," He quipped lightly as she sighed impatiently.

"It's Rob and Sheri," She said irritably.

She whipped open the door without changing her expression, looking from one to the other sourly.

"Great timing," Blue deadpanned, leading them into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Akishla, don't bite my head off." Robert apologized as he and Sheri sat down, pausing dead in their tracks when they spotted Chuck.

"This is my Boyfriend Chuck; another unfortunate fan of yours." She introduced as they shook hands.

"Badass," Rob replied with a smile.

"Where's the stiff?" Blue asked without preamble, making Chuck snort into his cup.

"Coffee? Blood?" Chuck offered, trying to be somewhat of a decent host.

"I got it man, sorry to interrupt." Robert replied; and it looked like he meant it as he stood and poured two cups of coffee.

"It's cool." Chuck shrugged.

"John 5 is still on the bus; wasn't really sure what to do with him." Sheri said apologetically.

"Good, leave him there. I'll grab my med kit from upstairs and start working on him; but its going to take some time. When you die your veins fill with blood but it's dead blood, so I'm going to have to go through a main artery and hope the venom doesn't reject it's host." She sighed, cracking her knuckles to limber up a bit.

"Can that happen?" Sheri asked worriedly, looking from Rob to Blue.

"When a host is dead, the process is very tricky. Death at one to three hours is even sometimes rejected; so ten or longer might be a definite no-no. It's likely that if he does come back, he won't have many Upir characteristics until much later on." She explained.

Sheri sobbed into her hands and Rob winced, putting an arm around her regretfully.

"Look, I'll try my best." Blue said, motioning for Chuck to follow her upstairs.

"Make yourselves at home, you know where everything is. Is the bus open?" She asked.

"Yeah, here's the keys in case you need the lights," Rob replied, handing them to Chuck.

Once upstairs, Blue kicked her closet door open to retrieve her med kit as well as a few other necessary supplies before disappearing deeper into it, past all of her goth clothes, past a few office pant and skirt suits, past a plethora of Halloween costumes, to yank down a set of black scrubs.

"Change into something that you don't care about too much; this is gonna get messy." She warned, stripping out of the t-shirt and boy shorts that had been hiding under her robe.

Chuck snuck a peek at her as she dressed, enjoying the sight of her tits and ass as she tugged on a sports bra and panties followed by the set of scrubs.

He tugged on a pair of black sweats and a black t-shirt, tying his black shoes as she shouldered her med kit and they headed out, their sunglasses the finishing touches to protect their sensitive eyes from the sunlight.

"Fucking hell its bright out here," He grumbled as he followed Blue out back behind the house to the tour bus.

They jogged the last few feet to the bus, where the majority of the windows were covered in black-out curtains.

"That is much better," She sighed in relief as Chuck blinked the bright dots out of his vision.

"What do we do first?" He asked, surprised by the size of the bus on the inside.

"Can you help me clear the table off and extend the leaves on it? We need to lay him out flat," She said, nodding towards the dead guitarist.

They moved the table into position and extended it, laying out trash bags around the table before laying absorbent pads on top of those until the buses carpet was completely protected.

"I'm almost afraid to ask why we need to cover the carpet like this?" Chuck said as they hoisted the body onto the tabletop.

"Don't worry, Rob's gonna have to clean up the mess if this works. If the venom chooses to use him as a host; it'll have to push out all of the death and decay to make a home for itself. Dead blood, fluids, the works," She explained, pulling a pair of scissors out of her kit and cutting John's shirt off of him.

"You ever do this before? For a dead person I mean?" He asked, watching as she pulled out a penlight next to start searching for viable arteries to use.

"Yes, but they weren't as far dead as this guy. Like I told Rob, this isn't going to be easy. I was thinking that it would be better if I used several intravenous sites; we would have a better success rate. I also need to work with him while he's still in fucking rigor, which sucks." Blue complained.

"Yeah, I can see." He replied as she decided to go for his jugular first.

"Can you unwrap those other needles for me?" She asked, nodding towards the supplies she had laid out.

Chuck watched in fascination as she carefully inserted a long 14 gage needle into his neck, placing a catheter there and flushing it with saline to make sure that it was viable before attaching a bag of fluid and hanging it up; injecting the line with 300 CC's of Upir venom before moving on to his chest and placing a more permanent port there just above his heart and repeating the process. Lastly, she cut his left pantleg to the groin, repeating the same process with his femoral artery. He continued to pass her supplies as she worked, making adjustments to the catheters and taping them in place.

Blue sighed in frustration when a small amount of venom slithered from his nostrils and dripped down his neck and chest in search of a home. She opened a vial and it crawled inside, where she drew up another 900 CC's of venom from the vial and began the process of injecting him anew.

Over the course of two hours, she repeated this process again and again until without warning, brownish-black blood began flushing itself out of his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.

"Alright, that's our cue to get the fuck outta dodge." She said, snatching up her kit and hurrying to the door as the god-awful smell of dead blood rent the air, attacking their over-sensitive sense of smell.

"Fuck!" Chuck gagged as he stumbled off the bus behind her, sucking in huge and unneeded amounts of air in an attempt to get the smell out of his system.

"Yup," She croaked, eyes watering as she gasped in air beside him.

"When that guy wakes up or whatever, they need to burn that fucking bus." He said in disgust, wrinkling his nose.

"At least it's working though," He said as they neared the front door.

"It was all up to the venom really." Blue replied with a shrug.

"But you wouldn't give up either," Chuck said with a smile.

She shrugged again as they returned to the kitchen to wash the dead guitarist from their hands.

Rob and Sheri were still at the table, both of them looking between Blue and Chuck hopefully.

"It's working for now, the venom kept rejecting him, but I kept reinjecting him with more and more of it until it began to flush the decay from his system." She reported, causing Sheri to sigh in relief.

"I'd get a new tour bus if I were you though," Chuck said, stomach clenching at the memory of the stench.

Rob unpacked their instruments and gear from a (thankfully) separate compartment on the bus; looking like a kid at Disneyland when he learned he would have to load up a hearse to transport it to the venue.

He and Sheri loaded themselves into a cab while Blue and Chuck stayed behind long enough to explain the situation to Mort, who seemed suddenly very interested in the concert.

"Tell your friend I want into the concert or I won't let you off tonight to practice," He threatened half-heartedly, making Blue groan.

"Okay, I'll text you the address." She replied, rolling her eyes at the fuckery that was her life thanks to Sheri and her damned drunken escapades.

Blue sighed softly, lost in thought as she watched her new bracelet and its charms catch the light of the afternoon sun.

Her electric guitars and her violins were locked away in their cases in the basement with some of her other storage; and she was loath to go down there amongst those memories to retrieve what she needed. Those things belonged to another life…..

Of course, Rob had offered John 5's guitars for her to use, but they hadn't felt right in her hands, so she had declined in favor of her own.

Thankfully, John did have a surplus of new guitar strings for her to use; so that she could re-string and tune her (now vintage) instrument.

Chuck relegated himself to the living room with her laptop; realizing that online shopping could definitely become an addiction as he browsed a site that sold different kinds of knives, crossbows, and other assorted instruments of death. He had the feeling that Blue needed space to get her head together; knowing her well enough to see that she was all nerves about this damned concert.

The sun was setting when he decided to stretch and get a bag of blood from the kitchen, but something silvery caught his eye in the window, making him do a doubletake.

_Ugh. Evie…_

She waved to him sweetly, beckoning him from the window as though she couldn't come inside the house.

Chuck sighed as he went to the door and opened it, not really knowing what to do as she glided over to him. He didn't speak a lick of fucking Italian to save his life.

"Hi Charles!" She exclaimed, wrapping a spectral shawl about herself as he lit a cigarette.

"Hey. Listen…. Uh, Akishla is busy tonight-

"Ah! And who say that I am here for her? Akishla is a good translator, but I no need her all the time. You understand now, no?" She asked brokenly.

Chuck had the sudden urge to stick his head in the oven.

"Yeah, I understand." He replied, wondering where the hell all of this was going.

"Bueno! Good! Take a walk with me, Si?" She asked, gesturing to the graves beyond.

"Uh, I really can't. Akishla and I have somewhere to go tonight so-

"Is Okay. Is not far from here and won't take long, maybe ten minuti, si?" Evie pressed.

"Is something important for you. Something Akishla no tell for you, si?" She asked insistently.

Chuck sighed.

"Alright, ten minutes tops okay?" He agreed, realizing belatedly that he didn't know the cemetery well yet.

What the hell did this weird bitch want to show him anyways?

He and Evie had been walking for a good ten minutes already towards her mausoleum when he realized that it was getting darker and chillier; although he supposed that the weather didn't effect poltergeists.

"Look Evie, I really have to get back. Maybe this can wait for another time?" He said, losing patience quickly with her.

"You remember I told you I am buried in very special part of cemetery, yes? You know why is special?" She asked, ignoring the fact that he had said he wanted to head home.

"Why is it special?" He deadpanned, wondering if this broad could somehow die again.

"Ah, because a lot of… how you say? Murderers! A lot of murderers in this section. You see? Look at this?" She asked, motioning towards a headstone to their right.

Chuck squinted slightly, thankful for his enhanced Upir vision until he read the Epitaph;

**CHARLES LEE RAY**

** DIED**

** NOVEMBER 9, 1988**

"I know, I know. Is a little shocking for you, yes?" Evie asked, smiling mischievously.

He backed away slowly, part of his brain having a hard time comprehending what he was seeing and the other part just wanting to get the fuck out of there as soon as he could.

"Why the fuck would you show this to me? Who the fuck wants to see something like this?" He asked, turning towards her angrily only to feel his head snap to the side as she hit him in the temple with a large stone.

Chuck stumbled for a moment before launching himself forward blindly; only to feel an icy electricity arc over his skin as he went _through _Evie, tumbling to the ground painfully as she giggled.

"You cannot touch me! Only if I want you to!" She laughed sinisterly as he made it to his knees only to be knocked forward several feet by a blow to the back of the head.

He climbed to his feet slower this time, wavering slightly as his vision refocused in time for a second apparition to join them; swinging a large slab of rock at him this time.

Chuck flew another five feet, colliding with something solid before sliding to the ground in a heap. His vision blurred and darkened around the edges before refocusing in time to feel himself being lifted.

"You like the gypsy whore, no? I wonder why she no tell you then, your body is here!" Evie cackled in his ear as he attempted to bite into her cheek, only to feel cold electricity for his trouble.

"Yeah, and now your _other body _can join it!" The other poltergeist wheezed as Chuck lashed out in an attempt to free himself but connected with nothing.

"Ah Larry! Quiet now, our friend needs rest after our game, si?" She asked, smashing his head into his own tombstone several times before he blacked out.

"Got it all dug up for you sweetheart," Larry said with pride as he pulled back a layer of sod that had been concealing Chuck's recently re-dug grave.

Evie smirked viciously as she yanked open his coffin and unceremoniously dumped him on top of his skeletal corpse before slamming the lid shut and weighing the lid down with stones and Larry's slab of rock.

"Sweet dreams, Charlie." Evie cooed as she and Larry began to shovel dirt on top of the casket.

Blue zipped her guitar case closed and changed into black jeans and a purple band tee before slinging the case over her shoulder and heading downstairs. She saw her laptop open on the coffee table, but before she could make another joke about Chuck watching porn in her absence, she noticed that the screen saver was up, and the living room was deserted. Thinking that he must have gone to get blood, she made her way to the kitchen…. Which was also deserted.

A deep sinking feeling settled into the pit of her stomach as she flitted to the basement, the walk-in cooler, the back of the house, even into the tour bus which stank of a rancid meat-like smell; before she dialed Mort with shaking hands.

"Chuck's missing," She said as soon as he answered, returning to the house to grab her keys for the hearse.

"What? Are you sure?" He asked with a frown.

"I've searched the whole house, the outside of the house, there's no note or anything; he's not here." She said breathily as she peeled out of the driveway and onto the main road of the cemetery.

"Kish… maybe he just….decided to leave?" Mort asked hesitantly, knowing that something like that would crush her.

"No, he ordered more clothes and stuff; they came here today! Not to mention that he gave me this ridiculously expensive bracelet today and….. and it's just the stuff he's been saying to me and the way we are together, he didn't leave me Mort. I know he didn't. Besides, all of his stuff is still at the house, " Her voice cracked with emotion as she began to search along their normal route for him.

"I'll be right there okay? What section are you in?" Mort asked, taking his own keys down from their hook.

"I've started along section C," She replied, hanging up and texting Rob that she had an emergency and would call later.

Blue drove by the crematory next, but the doors were still locked as they always were, and a quick search of the building turned up nothing.

She drove along the next three sections with no luck, scattering geese impatiently as she peered into the darkness.

An hour later, she gasped as she nearly collided with Scary Larry, who smirked at her toothily before floating off; which gave her an idea…

Blue dialed Mort once again as she changed course, heading for the graves and mausoleums near the lake.

"Did you find him?" He answered hopefully.

"No. Have you seen Evie?" She asked, nearly standing on the accelerator in the hopes of going faster.

"No. I drove by her section about an hour ago, but I didn't see her." Mort replied.

"I'm heading over there now; if she hasn't seen him then she can definitely help us look." She said as she cut across a small section of flat cremation markers to get to the lake faster.

"I'll meet you there,"

Blue hung up and shoved her cell in her pocket, making a sharp left as Evie's mausoleum came into sight.

"Evie!" She shouted as she slammed the hearse shut, looking around for the poltergeist irritably.

She hated having to deal with her unless she had to, but if Evie could help them search for Chuck…..

"Evie!" She called again, banging on the mausoleum door loudly.

"Si, si, si! What you want?" Evie floated through the door to frown down at Blue in annoyance.

"Have you seen Chuck?" She asked, wondering if she would have to resort to Italian or if the multi-lingual opera singer would understand her.

"No, I no see him tonight." She replied quickly, making a shooing motion with her hand as she turned back to her resting place, but Blue caught her by her wrist easily and Evie froze as she was reminded of the extent of the gypsy girls powers.

"You haven't seen him?" She repeated as Evie slowly turned to face her once more.

"No, I tell you, no" Evie said haughtily, trying to yank her arm free of Blue's grasp.

"Evelyn, why are you lying to me?" Blue asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

Mort pulled up alongside the hearse and got out, looking between the two uncertainly.

"I no lie! Are you crazy? Maestro! What the matter with this girl?" She asked Mort with a nervous laugh before Blue dragged her forward by the bodice of her gown until their faces were inches apart.

"You're gonna find out just how fucking crazy I am if you don't start talking. Capische?" Blue growled, her eyes flashing from violet to glowing red in the dark.

Evie made one more attempt to jerk out of her grasp before Blue slammed her vehemently into the side of the mausoleum; causing a crack to emerge clean through the foundation.

Evie cried out as the long-forgotten feeling of pain lanced through her spine and shoulders and her eyes widened in fear.

"I can make you wish you had died and stayed fucking dead, understand? Now, where is he?" Blue demanded icily, her hand closing around Evie's throat with just the right amount of pressure.

"Who you think you are? Gypsy filth!" Evie lashed out, clawing deep gashes into Blue's arm through her coat.

Blue roared in pain and anger, slamming the poltergeist into the mausoleum hard enough to fracture her spine and shatter both of her shoulder blades simultaneously.

Evie wailed in agony, clutching feebly at her assailants wrists and hands.

"Where. Is. He. Evelyn?" She gritted, her telekinetic energy wreaking havoc as she lost control of herself; destroying the mausoleum that had been Evie's home for over a century.

"His grave….we put him in the grave," She finally confessed, shrieking animalistically as Blue ripped her head from her shoulders; effectively ending her afterlife and sending her to whatever hell awaited her beyond.

"Shit! Come on, he isn't far from here then." She gasped, abandoning the hearse to flit to Chuck's grave as quickly as she could; leaving Mort to follow in his car.

Blue tore away the row of sod in a panic; her enhanced hearing picking up the scratching and pounding from within the buried coffin below.

"Hold on, just hold on and I'll get you out!" She shouted, her telekinesis shifting pile after pile of soil and rocks.

"Oh my God! Is he okay?" Mort asked, pulling a shovel from his trunk.

"Would you fucking be okay?!" Blue cried as the last of the dirt came flying from the hole and the large stones were next to follow before she climbed down to pull open the lid.

She pulled Chuck out carefully, feeling his body sag against her chest bonelessly as she flitted out of the grave and pressed his face against her neck urgently.

"Drink! Come on, just drink." She croaked, feeling the sticky open wound at the back of his head and smelling a mixture of blood and venom; sighing in relief when he finally sank his fangs into her.

Blue closed her eyes and leaned against his headstone, feeling his wound begin to heal with every feeble pull of blood; holding him close to her with shaking hands as she transported them back to the house.


	10. Chapter 10: Snacks and Concerts Part 2

**Chapter 10: Snacks and Concerts Part 2**

Blue curled up fully clothed on their bed with Chuck in her arms as his fangs retracted and he lost consciousness; the venom in his veins doing it's job to ensure that he recovered.

Mort let himself in to the house, collected three bags of blood from the walk-in in the basement, and jogged up the stairs; entering their room quietly so as not to wake Chuck.

Blue's face was streaked with a mixture of dirt and tears as she met his eyes uncertainly and shook her head.

Mort silently pulled her recliner closer to the bed before seating himself and stabbing a metal straw into a pouch of the blood and offering it to her to drink.

She took the pouches and drained them dry one after another until she felt her strength beginning to return to her slowly.

"Text me the address of the venue and I'll drive the equipment over to your friends. Do you need anything while I'm out? Medical supplies or…?" He trailed off, unsure of how to help her.

"I don't need anything, but I definitely owe you one for your help." She murmured, trying to carefully examine the back of Chuck's head without shifting him around too much.

"Don't be silly, you don't owe me anything. I think that the wound is healed, there's just a lot of congealed blood and dirt all over him." Mort assured her, hesitating before leaning forward and kissing her forehead paternally.

Blue gripped his hand briefly in thanks before he headed out, exchanging his keys for the keys to the hearse.

She texted Mort the venue address before gently detaching Chuck from her arms and getting up to retrieve supplies to clean him up a bit.

Thankfully he was sleeping deeply enough for her to get the majority of the blood and dirt off of his face, arms and hands and get his bloody clothes off of him.

Once she was sure that he was comfortable, she changed clothes and left the bedroom with refocused energy.

She had work to do.

Blue made her way down to the storage area in her basement for the second time that day, shoving a bookshelf aside that concealed a door to an old root cellar that she had converted into Sacred Space.

The protection spell on the doorway to the cellar glowed briefly as she crossed the threshold before the protective barrier became invisible once again behind her. It had been a long time since she had needed to enter this room, but it was good to know that her wards still held after so much time had passed.

She began gathering the items that she needed to strengthen the wards around the house; she wasn't sure of all of the details of why Chuck had ended up out in the middle of the cemetery, but she frankly didn't care either, because she was going to make sure all the other things that go bump in the night were going to stay away from them.

Once she had all of the supplies she needed, she willed the room closed and the shelf back in front of it before returning to her living room.

Blue closed her laptop and pushed the coffee table against the wall; clearing her space on the oriental rug in front of the fireplace to work her craft.

She then lit the fireplace; turning it on as high as it would go and lighting her various candles and incense from its flames.

Next, she set down a large cauldron to the west filling it with several gallons of sea water she had had stored in jugs in the basement.

The window in the living room flew open at her will and several pounds of dirt made a neat little pile to the north of the room; followed by a small flock of sparrows and finches that flew in small circles to the east of the room.

"Earth my body, Air my breath, Water my blood, Fire my spirit. The Earth, The Air, The Fire, The Water; return, return, return, return. The Earth, The Air, The Fire, The Water; return, return, return, return!" She recited, closing her eyes and focusing her energy outward as she stood in the middle of her home.

Turning to the small hill of dirt to the north she stretched her hands above her; palms facing upward to the sky.

"Come to me now, earthly power of the north! Lend me thy strength and stability, give me support. As thy soil is fertile, this circle shall be! Nourish my works as thou nourish the trees. The circle is opened, thy power please lend. Thou presence is welcomed, I bid thee come in!"

The dirt rose slowly into the air, swirling and drifting lazily as it formed a column of spinning soil.

"Come to me now, oh winds of the east! Whirl and twirl until magick has ceased. Blow through my mind and the energy raise! Blow away clouds and blow away haze! The circle is opened, thy powers please lend. Thou presence is welcomed, I bid thee come in!"

The flock of sparrows and finches chirped and sang sweetly as they circles above her to the east in answer to her call.

"Come to me now, O Southerly fires! Warm light, pure strength, add flame to desires! Cleanse and purify all actions mundane. Protect this circle with thy pure light and flame! The circle is opened, thy power please lend. Thou presence is welcomed, I bid thee come in!"

The flames in the fireplace leapt up high, crawling up the wall and above the mantle; spreading to the ceiling, but not consuming as it's light shown brighter.

"Come to me now, O waters of the western port! Tides rise and fall, and all harm abort! Wash away troubles and rinse away pain. Wash over my spirit with thy oceans and rain! The circle is opened, thy powers please lend. Thou presence is welcomed. I bid thee come in!"

The sea water churned and roiled like a tempestuous ocean within the cauldron as the sound of waves crashing against the seashore filled the air around her.

Blue sat down in the middle of the circle, the charged air crackling around her with powerful energy as she began chanting anew;

"Now is the time, now is the hour; mine is the magick, mine is the power. Now is the time, now is the hour; mine is the magick, mine is the power. Now is the time, now is the hour; mine is the magick, mine is the power."

The elements of the earth, air, fire, and water connected as one above her; spiraling in a great column of soil, water, birds, and fire as her chanting continued.

She then took a bowl of herbs she had collected and lit it alight with the fire from the hearth; letting the smoke travel above and join the swirling elements.

"Whoever it is that vexes me, shall vex themselves by the power of three! As I wish no harm, I'll bind their power. Protection is mine from this hour!" Blue called, adding to the burning bowl a lock of her hair and the towel she had used to cleanse Chuck's wounds that still had smears of his blood on it.

The bowls flames leapt higher, burning white with hints of blue and purple as they consumed its contents; releasing a sweet smell of Jasmine and Roses into the air.

She continued chanting under her breath, elements swirling and churning above her as she meditated upon protecting their home and themselves from evil spirits and malicious intentions.

Blue entered a trance-like state as she honed her powers; elements and deities revolving and rippling in her minds eye in response to her summoning calls until all became a large fluttering pattern of color and light the likes of a kaleidoscope.

When Chuck awoke, he felt surprisingly refreshed and renewed as he sat up slowly; searching for the beds other usual occupant but finding himself alone in their room.

He frowned as he climbed out of bed and made his way to the bathroom for a quick shower; wincing at the amount of blood and soil rinsing down the drain with the new bodywash he had ordered.

They would definitely need to change the damned sheets after his muddy ass had slept there.

"We need to get a fucking clock in here," He murmured; Blue's cell was absent, meaning he had nothing to tell time with.

Glancing out the window was of no help either, but it did seem as if the horizon was somewhat lightening with the coming dawn.

Things were coming back to him slowly as he tried to remember what happened fully; they were supposed to meet Rob and Sheri at the venue, Blue retreating to the room to practice and restring her guitar, Evie…

Evie had had something to show him.

But all of these things flew out of his mind as he exited their bedroom and made his way to the stairs; seeing the column of swirling elements rising to the ceiling, swirling and churning far above his head.

Chuck's first instinct was to call out to Blue, but the words died in his throat as he saw her curled up asleep on the carpet beneath the swirling elements on the living room floor.

The wind picked up a bit as he descended the steps slowly, not wanting to disrupt whatever spell it was that she was working; for fear of bringing the churning vortex down around both of their heads.

When his feet left the last step on the staircase and touched down onto the living room floor, Blue bolted awake with a startled gasp; her telekinesis throwing open the living room window and sending the contents of the elemental column exploding out of it with a great roar of supernatural wind.

The window slammed shut then, pitching them into the semi-darkness of the dawn as her eyes met his; the violet irises aglow.

"Lovely weather we're having in the living room today," He said in greeting, though inwardly he was marveling at her abilities.

"Sorry, I must've gotten carried away while I was meditating and fallen asleep." Blue replied croakily; her voice still thick with sleep.

"It's cool. I'm going to put on some coffee," Chuck replied, knowing that she'd need some privacy to dismiss whomever she had called on and close her circle properly.

As he went through the motions of making coffee, flashes of his misadventures with Evie that night were coming back to him with a vengeance.

The open grave, the coffin with his _original body _resting inside of it; skeletal and empty.

The smell of dank musty mold and decay.

The feeling of his own bones at his back as he scratched and clawed in a panic desperation to free himself.

"Charles!" Blue exclaimed, running to unplug the coffee pot and toss it into the sink, dousing the flames that had engulfed it suddenly with water. The acrid smell of burnt plastic stung their noses as it filled the kitchen, making Blue giggle softly as she turned towards him, making sure that he was alright.

"What the hell happened?" He asked cluelessly, coming back to himself slowly.

"Nice one. Pyrokinesis is pretty rare, despite what Hollywood would have you think." She replied, tossing the remnants of the appliance into the trash and rummaging through her cabinets until she located her old French press.

"Wait a second, you're telling me that that was _me?"_ He demanded uncomprehendingly as she washed the dust off of the press.

"Well it definitely wasn't me!" Blue laughed, putting the kettle on to boil and turning towards him nervously; suddenly at a loss for what to say.

"But you can summon those purple flames in your hands," He said pointedly.

"That took years of practice and meditation. I'm naturally a water and air girl myself; so I had to meditate a lot and make friends with fire before I could actually do anything useful with it." She explained, closing the curtains as the sun crested the horizon glaringly.

"It looked like you were doing fine earlier," He teased, watching a small smile creep across her face.

But in all honesty, she looked exhausted.

"What happened earlier after…..after you found me? I can only remember bits and pieces," Chuck confessed, feeling a fog persist in his mind.

"Nothing. We came home, I made you drink as much as I could before you passed out. The venom wanted you to sleep afterwards so that you'd heal, and I came down here to strengthen the wards on the house. I didn't realize that they'd worn off that bad; she should've never been able to come into the house," Blue breathed, wringing her hands nervously as she turned to face him.

"She didn't get in the house, she called me outside and I went. I didn't think she was that fucking psycho; lesson learned obviously." He scoffed as Blue served them each a cup of coffee from the press.

"Evie was always dangerous; she just crossed the wrong fucking line last night." She replied, trying and failing to stifle a yawn.

"Jesus, you two didn't get into it last night did you?" He asked cluelessly.

Blue stared at him agape for a moment.

"She stuck my- _you-_ in a grave and buried you alive! You bet your ass we got into it." She scoffed, slamming her coffee cup onto the surface of the table hard enough for the contents to slosh.

"Who won?" He asked with a smirk; she was very cute when she was angry.

As long as it wasn't at _him._

"Considering the fact that my fucking head is still attached; I'd say that I did." Blue deadpanned; having an itch to rip the aristocratic bitch limb from limb again.

"It's just gonna be fucking awkward seeing her float around here after this. I kept trying to get a punch in here and there, but I wasn't connecting at all. Fucking poltergeists," He sighed bitterly.

Blue frowned at him.

"She isn't going to be floating around here or anywhere; I exorcised her. She's gone. Besides, this is really my fault partially. I wanted to tell you so many times that your… grave… was here. But, I mean how the fuck do you bring that up? Then I just figured that if I was careful and kept out of that section of the cemetery, that maybe ignorance would be bliss and you'd never have to know. So in short, I fucked up and I'm sorry." She apologized, her anxiety running high enough that her spoon began to stir her coffee of its own accord.

Chuck reached out and caught the spoon with a small chuckle. She met his eyes uncertainly then; violet searching ice blue.

"It's not your fault. I mean I had to be buried somewhere, right? I guess I just always figured that the cops stuck my ass in Potter's Field somewhere." He said with a shrug.

Blue shifted in her seat; her eyes thoughtful as she looked at him again.

"I….uh, well, I'm not trying to get all up in your business or whatever, but you mentioned that you had been in Child Services when you were younger; so I'm assuming that means that you were given up for adoption…?" She asked, not really knowing how to bring all of this up for conversation.

Lack. Of. Social. Skills.

"My Mom gave me up after my Father kicked it; she could barely keep a roof over our heads and feed me, so she did what she had to do. I was four. The agency that I went to didn't let us keep in touch and when I graduated high school and started college out on my own, I didn't bother looking for her. I figured that I had fucked up her life enough," Chuck explained, wondering when the last time was that he had thought of all of this shit….

She nodded, grabbing her laptop from the living room and signing on to the Beecher Glen 'employee portal'.

"A few years back, I digitalized all of the files for everyone interred here and put all of the hardcopy files in storage. Mort almost had a meltdown, but it had to be done. You just can't maintain nearly two centuries worth of documents in their entirety in an office," She scoffed, typing in his name and turning the screen to face him.

**Ray, Charles Lee. DOB: 01/24/1950, DOD: 11/09/1988. Certificate of Death on file, coroners report on file, Interred 11/19/1988 By Amelia Renee Ray, presided over by Rev. Mortimer Beecher.**

Chuck burst out laughing suddenly, making Blue inadvertently jump.

"_Reverend _Mortimer Beecher? Jesus fuck, I wish I could've been a fly on the fuckin wall! Fucking _Reverend _at my funeral…." He was trying valiantly to collect himself, but it was hard.

"Mort presides over all the funerals held here unless the Family brings in their own clergy," She shrugged, smirking as he took a deep unneeded breath and wiped his eyes.

"So, is she here too?" He asked with a sniff.

"Your Mom? No, not yet." She replied, wincing at how that had come out sounding.

"What do you mean 'not yet'?" Chuck asked, all of the previous humor leaving him as quickly as it had come.

"Um…. Your Mom has the plot next to yours, but it's still vacant." Blue said hesitantly.

"_What_? Why the fuck would she want to be buried over there? Evie said that that section was reserved for murderers and shit; unless she killed someone." He frowned, running his hands through his dark auburn hair.

"What?! Oh God, Evie was full of shit! There is no section here reserved for murderers! Besides you, Evie and this one Civil War General over there that went bonkers and ordered his men to burn down an entire village; everyone else in that section is pretty Leave It To Beaver! Besides, if your Mom had killed someone, we'd totally know. The media would've been all over something Jason and Mrs. Vorhees like that and made a field day of it," Blue scoffed, covering her mouth as she realized what she had said; but Chuck was laughing again.

"Yeah for sure," He chortled, waving off her apologetic look.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I suck," She sighed, slouching in her chair with a sigh.

"Wanna show me how much?" He asked, sliding from his chair and crushing his lips to hers.

"What?" She giggled in surprise.

Near death experiences and graves aside, he was fucking horny.

Blue melted under his ministrations as usual, going from zero to a hundred without her engine needing any priming.

"Upstairs," He growled, willing her to transport them.

She acquiesced tumbling from her chair onto the bed as he worked her band tee up and tore her bra aside to reach her breasts, sucking one pert nipple into his mouth impatiently.

"Chuck," She sighed, gripping the back of his head in ecstasy; some distant part of her brain grateful that his wounds had healed, and he seemed to be back to his normal self.

He tugged the rest of her clothes off of her roughly, not caring where they landed as his fangs sank needfully into her thigh; his fingers finding her clit as she moaned beneath him in response.

"Please…" Blue sighed, impatient for him to fill her up again.

Chuck was hard as a rock, but he wasn't going to let her lead. There was some part of him that asserted its dominance whenever they were fucking, and he knew she loved it as much as he did.

He replaced his fingers with his tongue, teasing her bundle of nerves with firm strokes as he tasted her; the smell of her pheromones spiking the air.

She was already soaked with want and need.

Blue tried to pull him back up to her breasts so she could impale herself on his straining cock, but he shrugged her hand off, trapping her wrist in his grasp as he drank his fill of her sweetness.

"Chuck please! I can't…"She cut off with a keening wail as he sank his tongue further inside of her, but not nearly far enough.

He smacked her left ass cheek in silent punishment for trying to interrupt him; enjoying the erotic gasp of shock and lust that answered him.

Blue fisted the sheets below her, the feel of the tiny crumbles of soil she felt there a reminder that she had nearly lost him…

He was upping his ante dangerously now as he continued his assault with his tongue, his shoulders forcing her legs to spread further apart, giving him access to delve deeper still as he alternated the deep swirls of his tongue inside of her with smacks to her ass.

She quivered uncontrollably below him, the sheets tearing in her fists as she bucked her hips in a desperate attempt to gain more friction.

"Chuck….. I need….please!" Blue begged incoherently once more as he looked up at her, a feral glint in his eyes.

"Tell me what you want," He husked, grabbing her wrist and pinning it down when she tried to reach between her legs herself.

"I want you… I want you to fuck me," She gasped, bucking desperately again to no avail.

He smacked her ass again, enjoying the sight of her at his mercy.

"Then ask me nicely," He replied tauntingly.

"Chuck, please fuck me." She sobbed, tears running down her cheeks when he finally surged forward, filling her to the hilt.

She was so tight that he hissed as he ground into her needfully, she fit him like a fucking glove.

"God Blue, I….. I need you," He caught himself at the last second before he said it.

What the hell was happening to him?

A couple hours later, they were dressed for the concert and having a quick sip of blood when Mort showed up in jeans and a polo; looking completely underdressed outside of his usual three-piece suit ensembles.

"Hey bigshot, I came to deliver your ride." He said, showing her Bessie's keys.

Blue squeaked with glee, throwing her arms around him excitedly.

"Thank you! Oh my God, I missed you Baby!" She exclaimed, running out the door and stopping in her tracks as she took in the sight of her car.

"Mort…what?" She was at a loss for words.

"Good as new?" He asked with a laugh as she nearly staggered forward.

"I…. I never even owned her new," She gasped.

The 1976 Toyota Celica was completely restored, inside and out.

"Well, you were so adamant about not getting a _new _car." Mort explained.

"Are you crazy? This must've cost you a fortune! Which is what I was trying to avoid by the way," She sighed as he pressed the keys into her hand and kissed her forehead.

"Better get going, you don't want to be late for your big debut." He said with a wink as she groaned, double checking that she had her cigarettes and zippo before gingerly stepping into the restored car. Chuck got in the passenger side, letting out a low whistle as he put Blue's guitar in the back seat.

"Right? Jesus-Louisus." She muttered, sticking the key in the ignition and listening to the perfect purr of the new engine turning over.

"Are we giving you a lift over?" Blue asked as she rolled the windows down.

"Nah, I'll be right behind you in about 10 minutes. Enjoy," He replied, tapping her door with a wink.

She shook her head, beaming from ear to ear as she pulled off, squealing happily once more and bouncing in her seat.

"Oh my God, lets check out the new sound system!" She said, connecting her phone to the Bluetooth.

"Damn," Chuck sighed as _Sick Bubblegum _began its acoustics and the wind blew his long hair from his face, the air cool against the staples and stitches numbing away the stiffness he usually felt in them.

He unconsciously reached for her hand across the console; fingers entwining with hers as they sped along rocking to the beat of the set of songs she would be playing that night.

Blue didn't think that her afterlife could get much better…

The amount of cars flooding the venue already caused a flurry of butterflies to descend into her guts as they parked beside the back door.

"Most of these peeps are Witches or Upir's; the Vamps don't get here until after sundown obviously." She told him, taking a deep breath as she pulled her guitar from the back seat.

"You okay?" He asked knowingly as he held the stage door for her.

"Nope," She replied, her stomach doing a flip flop as she wended her way through props and equipment until she spotted Rob, who waved them over.

"Everything okay guys?" He asked with concern, hoping that whatever emergency had struck them last night was resolved.

"Yeah, we're good. You'd be surprised how calm and serene working at a cemetery isn't," Chuck replied.

"I can imagine. People think Sheri and I live all glamorous and shit, get real. Half the time we live on a fucking _bus,_" He laughed, leading them onto the stage.

Blue gulped as she took in the sheer _size _of the venue from the vantage point of center stage; were there a million seats or was it her?

"I can't do this," She murmured, her head swimming as the stage lights went up and she felt like her chest was going to cave in.

"Blue, it's fine. Here, sit down." Chuck took her guitar from her and coaxed her onto one of the huge speakers.

"You'll be great! Just pretend you're just playing for Chuck," Rob said as he connected her guitar to the sound system.

"Oh God, I forgot that you're going to be here listening too." She gasped shakily, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

Chuck laughed softly as she panicked unnecessarily; she was so deadly sometimes and yet so vulnerable at others. He felt a familiar tugging in his chest as he tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Just practice for now yeah? The show isn't for another couple of hours," He coaxed, handing her guitar to her and retreating backstage to give her some space to run through the set with Rob and Sheri.

He stood just beyond the curtains, watching in awe as she eased into _Superbeast; _disappearing into the song as Rob growled along with her wild notes.

Blue seemed to become one with the guitar as they ran through her favorite; _Living Dead Girl, _even providing some of the back-up vocals with Sheri as though she had done this a hundred times before.

Mort had arrived moments later in the midst of _Dead City Radio_, taking his seat in the front row and beckoning Chuck to join him.

"Parking lot is getting packed! It's sundown, so the vampires are arriving. I'd hate to be human and walking around after dark tonight," Mort said, offering Chuck a beer from a large cooler meant for the VIP guests.

Chuck took it and popped the lid, passing Mort a cigarette as he lit his own.

"You think they'll be a lot of disappearances tonight? Won't that draw too much attention?" He asked thoughtfully.

"Every year when he's in town, he has this kind of unspoken rule that nobody hunts within town limits just to be safer, but there are always reports of one or two or so going missing the next morning. The Upir's are a lot more respectful of this rule than the Vamps are. Akishla's told me that she's had to help Rob keep them in line more than once, she says they're a real pain in the ass. We're glad when we see the back of them," He said with a scowl.

"Poor Blue. She's always stuck policing one locale or another," Chuck sighed ruefully.

"Keeping the existence of people like us a secret has been a particular passion of hers; she just tries to keep the peace I think. Part of me just wishes Rob would hold these gatherings elsewhere, even though I know 'Kish enjoys them." Mort confessed.

Chuck nodded in understanding, smirking when he saw Blue sway along to her own guitar solo.

"Jesus, she's so talented. It's a shame," He murmured without thinking, but Mort nodded in agreement.

"I've tried to get her to leave the cemetery and try something new, even though I'd miss her. I've tried to get her to go on the road with Rob or even practice medicine somewhere in town, but she won't have it. She just wants to work at the cemetery and keep her head down, as she puts it." Mort said regretfully.

The house lights came up and the crowd began filing in boisterously, the smell of cigarettes, Pot, and booze filling the air around them shortly after as Sheri and Blue began to rev up the music and dancing.

The laser lightsbegan strobing across the stage and the pyrotechnics flared as Rob appeared in all of his Zombie glory, causing the crowd around them to surge as close to the stage as they could get.

Blue met Chuck's eyes and she gave him a nervous grin as she began playing the opening song _Teenage Nosferatu Pussy_.

Mort handed Chuck another beer and began to bob his head to the beat rhythmically as Chucks neighbor; another Upir by the look of it, passed him a huge blunt.

"Pass," Chuck said, leery of anything he didn't roll himself as past experiences had taught him.

Mort shrugged and took a hit, passing it along as Chuck stared at him agape.

"Dude, what the fuck?" He blurted in shock.

"Hey, it makes the music bearable," Mort replied with a laugh.

"I'll try to keep 'em coming for you then," Chuck snorted as Mort sat back in his seat serenely.

_More Human Than Human _and _Sick Bubblegum _played next, the amount of secondhand smoke in the air so thick that Chuck was already getting a contact high. He was cracking open a third beer from Mort when he noticed one of the security guards come up from backstage and whisper something anxiously into Rob's ear while Sheri and a few of the prop guys distracted the crowd; dancing along to a lazy intro to _House of a 1000 Corpses._

Rob crossed the stage and conferred urgently with Blue, the house lights dimming to a muted cerulean color as Rob grabbed a mic,

"I wanna introduce you guys to someone very special tonight," He said breathily as Blue smiled nervously and the crowd roared in anticipation.

"This is my Cousin, Indigo. She's gonna take you through a couple of her originals and we're gonna be back in few minutes," Rob announced, leading her to center stage as she paled considerably further.

"How's everybody doing tonight?" She asked; her stage mode from her college days taking over.

The crowd roared in answer, numerous lighters and neon bracelets waving frantically.

"Let's raise a little Hell!" She shouted, starting up the opening notes to a song called _Raise Hell_

"_Gotta raise a little Hell! Young blood, run like a river. Young Blood, never get chained. Young blood, heaven needs a sinner. You can't raise Hell with a Saint. Young blood, came to start a riot. Don't care what your old man say. Young blood, heaven hate a sinner. But we gonna raise Hell anyway! Raise Hell! Yeah, Raise Hell! Somebody gotta, gotta raise a little Hell. Baby drop them bones! Baby sell that soul! Baby fare thee well! Somebody gotta, gotta raise a little Hell!" _She sang, her body rocking seductively with the guitar as Chuck and Mort both gaped at her.

"Her fucking voice is amazing!" Chuck shouted over the raucous crowd around them.

"Yeah, I already knew that. She's sang some of the hymns for funerals when the families have requested it before," Mort replied, smiling proudly as the crowd went wild for her.

Blue moved on to the next song, _I Like It Heavy; _followed by _Amen _and _Freak Like Me, _before catching Chuck's eye in the crowd and beginning _Do Not Disturb_

"_I think we should make out _

_In a few hours I'm getting on a plane_

_There's a pretty safe bet you'll never see me again, yeah._

_I love your accent_

_I wonder what it'll sound like when you cum_

_Let's see if blondes or brunettes are more fun, yeah._

_I'm on the very top floor room 1334_

_There's a king size bed but we can do it on the floor,_

_Turn your cellphone off, leave a sign on the door_

_That says Do Not Disturb."_

Blue swayed her hips to the seductive beat as she kept eye contact with Chuck; obviously putting on the show for him and him alone.

He shifted in his seat as he felt his blood heading in a definite southerly direction the longer he watched her. Under normal circumstances, he would've been uncomfortable as fuck getting a half-boner with Mort around; especially due to the fact that the guy was basically like her Father, but Mort was thankfully relaxed enough from all the joints and the beer that he just enjoyed the music with everyone else.

As the song wound to a close the crowd went wild, tossing streamers in the air, waving lighters, jumping up and down, and shouting her stage name; _Indigo._

Rob jogged back onto the stage, giving Blue a hug as the crowd cheered. He was whispering something to her, and she nodded and smiled, returning to her place as he grabbed the mic again.

"Was that some wild shit or what?!" He asked to roars and cheers.

Chuck and Mort cheered the loudest from the VIP Section as Blue blushed and waved.

She began playing the intro to _Thunder Kiss '65 _and Rob took the lead again, strutting across the stage as random women flashed their tits at him and blew him kisses; they were all high as fuck.

Chuck shook his head and continued nursing his beer, watching as Blue rocked along with her guitar to the beat, imagining what he was going to do with her later….

As the concert came to a close, most of the crowd was breaking off into groups; talking and laughing as the floor was cleared of most of the chairs and the after party began.

Rob had hired a DJ who took over center stage; heavy metal and rock songs pounding through the speakers.

Blue was repacking her guitar and talking with Sheri when she turned to sling her guitar case over her shoulder; freezing in place as a flash of bleach-blonde in the crowd caught her eye.

It was a woman in the midst of a group of vampires; stumbling and giggling as they circled her.

She looked familiar somehow, but from where?

"Shit," She murmured, nodding to the group in the crowd as Rob and Sheri followed her gaze.

"Damn, I thought we were able to round up the snacks that they were trying to sneak in." Rob sighed.

"I got it, I'm faster than you are." She whispered, flitting over to the group before Chuck could ask her what was going on.

"There's a human here in danger; that's why I had Akishla do that set of her songs in the middle of the concert, we thought we had stopped them from bringing anyone else in, but I guess they snuck one past." Rob explained to Chuck and Mort hurriedly.

"Mort, can you put Blue's guitar in the car? I'm going to see what the hell's going on." Chuck said, wishing that he had a weapon.

Blue flitted to the spot in the crowd where she had spotted the vamps, but they were too fast; flitting away themselves and taking their human prey with them.

She closed her eyes, briefly homing in on their trail before flitting to the location she sensed; placing her on the outskirts of the parking lot outside.

The blonde girl caught her eye in the dark as the tallest of the males restrained her by the throat and Blue felt her veins turn to ice as she realized who she was.

"Tiffany," She breathed, the memories she had seen in Chuck's mind coming back to her in a rush of images and swirling color.

Chuck caught sight of Blue on the outskirts of the parking lot and ran as fast as his abilities allowed him to.

"Help me! Please," Tiffany begged tearfully as the vampire holding her tugged her closer and the group of them flit again.

Blue homed in on their new location and was preparing to flit again when Chuck yanked her arm hard to stop her.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Akishla! There are too many of them! Just let them go," He said, thinking that it would be suicide to go after a group of six or seven vamps without so much as a toothpick to stop them.

"They have…." Blue swallowed, trying to contain her emotions.

"They have my fucking Ex, I know. I don't know how that dumb bitch got mixed up in this shit and I don't really fucking care, its her fucking problem. I don't want you getting hurt going after them; just let them have her." He pressed, taking her hand and trying to lead her back to the venue.

"I can fight them. My powers… they're kind of special; rare, even for an Upir." She confessed, pulling her hand away.

"Blue, you've barely slept in the last twenty-four hours and you haven't had any blood since we left the house this afternoon; we both know that you aren't at your best right now," He argued, not understanding why she couldn't just let this go.

She sighed and shifted on the spot uncertainly, her eyes searching the darkness around her as the trail began to fade slowly.

"I don't give a shit about Tiffany; whatever the fuck we had is in the past and it was a long time ago. For fucks sake, she nearly fucking killed me! But….. if something happened to you… I don't think I could handle that," He said softly, the emotion in his eyes pleading with her to stay.

Blue fingered the blue heart charm on her bracelet briefly before leaning forward and kissing him.

"I know that you don't understand why I'm doing this, but I have to try." She murmured, disappearing in the dark before he could stop her.


	11. Chapter 11: Lies and Truths

**Authors Note: This story contains music by Rob Zombie, Halestorm, and Dorothy so far respectively. I only own the story and my OC's. Any spells, incantations, rituals, etc. contained herein are real and the use of any of them is at the practitioners risk. Please practice responsibly **

**Chapter 11: Lies and Truths **

Chuck returned to the venue, shoving through the crowds of Zombie fans until he reached the stage. Mort let out a sigh of relief upon seeing him, but it was short lived when he saw the look on his face.

"Where the fuck is Rob?" He shouted over the pounding bass of the music.

"Backstage. What happened? Where's Akishla?" Mort demanded, looking through the crowd as though trying to spot her.

"Gone. She went after that bitch and those vamps and I have no fucking idea where they are! Mort, she's in danger and we gotta find her; Rob probably knows a good place to start looking." Chuck replied, leading Mort backstage.

Rob and Sheri were talking with a small group of vampires, conversing in low tones as they approached.

"Those fucks took the human and flitted somewhere, Blue went after them; where would they have taken her?" Chuck asked, turning to the oldest vamp in the group.

"My guess would be to the woods or a cemetery. They would want somewhere secluded to make their kill; but if anyone can find them, the gypsy girl can." The older male replied calmly as he surveyed Chuck and Mort with barely concealed disdain.

"Listen Count Chocula, that 'Gypsy Girl' is _my Girl, _and You and the rest of these _My Chemical Romance _rejects are going to help us search high and low for them." Chuck growled, his eyes flashing red as one of the props directly behind them caught fire.

The vampires jumped away in fear; large blazes being one of their enemies.

"And if we don't find them before dawn?" The older vampire sniffed.

Chuck lit a cigarette with a sneer,

"Then I won't be the only one enjoying a _smoke. _Got it?"

Meanwhile, Blue had flitted another five times after the vamps until she had partially lost their trail in a dense thicket of forest. She pulled herself into a standing position carefully, feeling the lack of blood and rest beginning to take a toll on her as her head spun just a little with the effort of trying to home in on them once more.

She picked up the trail and stumbled forward, catching herself on a tree trunk before she planted face first into the ground. No sooner had she righted herself when a shot rent the silence and Blue felt the air disturbed as a bullet buzzed passed her ear. Whipping around, she scowled at a deer blind a few yards behind her and growled low in her chest.

She absolutely hated hunters.

Blue was torn as the vamp trail was fading fast; but she knew if she didn't get some decent blood into her soon, she wouldn't be any kind of a match for them anyways.

Using some of the last of her reserves of energy, she flitted directly behind the blind; prowling through the fallen leaves and up the ladder like a puma.

The hunter within was seated on a low stool, crosshairs still locked on Blue's previous location as he peered through the scope.

In one swift move, her elbow connected with the base of his skull from behind; knocking him out cold.

She belatedly wondered if she was becoming too spoiled with drinking from blood bags on a regular basis as the smell of stale sweat, beer, and beef jerky assaulted her nostrils as she sank her fangs into his jugular.

After drinking about a pint from her unwitting donor, she left him propped up against the wall of the blind; taking his rifle and slinging it over her shoulder.

It wouldn't kill a vampire, but it would sure as fuck slow one down!

Searching the blind further, she found a hunting knife and the rest of his ammo which she also pocketed before jumping down and flitting to her original position in search of the last vestiges of the vamps trail in the dark.

The pilfered blood had steadied her greatly, but it was like bandaging a gaping wound; it would only serve her needs temporarily.

Steeling herself once again, she flitted closer to the vamps new location; ducking quietly behind a cropping of bushes in the dark.

Peeking around from her hiding place, she could see the group in the moonlit clearing beyond, their leader leaning in to take the first bite.

Blue aimed carefully; scope not required as her enhanced vision found purchase in the dark, the first bullet catching the tall male in the throat.

Dead blood splattered Tiffany's cheek as she went down with her assailant, his superhuman strength pulling her to the ground as he clutched at his neck; a terrible gasping and sucking making her scream and scramble backwards away from him.

She took out the next vamp that lunged at the terrified human before reloading and taking out two more with chest shots, advancing from the shadows slowly with each new shot.

The last two vamps; which were the youngest in the small coven fled in fear as Blue yanked Tiffany to her feet and shoved her behind her as she faced Malciber; the coven leader who lay at their feet clutching at the hole in his throat.

The remaining three coven member scrambled to their feet, looking to Malciber for instructions.

"We….would have gladly shared our meal," He rasped out, staggering to his feet as Blue raised the rifle again.

"I can hunt for myself ; and you know that that's hardly the point. Hunting within town limits during gatherings is forbidden; has been for longer than either of us has been alive," She reminded him as Tiffany peered from behind her, her heels easily giving her some height on the smaller Upir she was using as a shield.

"Which is why we flitted here," One of Malciber's lacky's growled, his thirst getting the better of his judgement.

"The trailer park you took her from hardly constitutes as beyond town limits. Your Council of Elders will be informed, and your snack will be confiscated." She replied coldly; raising the gun again as they advanced on her once more, but Malciber rose a hand to stop them.

"Let us have peace among our own kind," He said, gesturing for Blue to go.

"She is not one of us!" One of them hissed angrily, causing Blue to turn and fling her hand out; her telekinesis forcing him off his feet and several yards beyond the clearing.

"Nice one!" Tiffany whispered, making Blue inwardly roll her eyes.

"Come on," She replied, nearly dragging Tiffany from the clearing towards the nearest path.

They walked in silence for several moments, Tiffany stumbling along behind her in her heels as she tried to clamber over roots, rocks, and clumps of leaves with little success.

Blue sighed and stopped, briefly getting her bearings from the trees around them.

"I can flit us out of the woods, but you're going to have to walk from there until I can steal a car." She explained, taking a deep steadying breath before she turned to face her.

"Uh…. Okay." She agreed, the two of them facing one another awkwardly.

Blue reached for her hand and transported them to the edge of woods, swaying slightly as her nose started bleeding.

"Are you alright?" Tiffany asked, looking concerned as she wiped her face on her sleeve.

"I'm fine. I just need to get you home so that I can get home," She replied in clipped tones, spying what looked like a gas station not too far ahead with her enhanced sight; maybe half a mile.

"Thanks, by the way. For saving my ass back there," Tiffany said, hugging herself as the autumnal winds picked up around them.

Blue sighed as she looked the skin-tight black mini dress and fishnets the bottle-blonde was wearing.

"Here," She removed her black denim trench and handed it to her.

"What about you?" She asked Blue, taking the coat hesitantly.

"I'm not as susceptible to the elements as a human would be," She replied with a shrug.

"Holy shit! You're really a vampire, aren't you? And those guys back there…?" She gasped as she tugged Blue's trench coat on.

"Something like that," Blue replied, reaching into her bra for her cigarettes and lighting one with her purple flames as she contemplated trying to flit again or making blondie-bear walk.

"Damn, I have like, a million questions! Do you turn into a bat? Can sunlight kill you? Is Dracula real?" Tiffany asked breathily.

Blue stopped and stared at her through narrowed eyes for a moment as she exhaled a lungful of smoke.

Maybe she should've just let Malciber have her….

"Uh…. No, no, and no." She finally answered.

They would have to flit. She could only bear the woman for so long without killing her herself.

"Oh," Tiffany said, looking almost disappointed.

"Listen, we need to flit one more time. There's a gas station up ahead about half a mile, I can get us a ride from there." She told her, reaching out her hand again; though she'd much rather chop it off.

Tiffany grasped her hand tightly as they flitted again, this time Blue landed hard, blood seeping from her nose and eyes.

"Shit, what's wrong with you?" Tiffany asked as Blue balanced herself against one of the pillars near the pumps.

"I'm fine. Follow me and keep quiet," She replied, leading her over to a balding middle-aged man who was filling up.

"Hey, we need a ride." Blue told him, motioning for Tiffany to get into the passenger seat.

"Shot-gun it is," Tiffany muttered as she folded herself into the SUV.

"Hey! What the f—" But he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Blue's eyes.

"Get in the back and give me your wallet," She told him, smirking as he complied.

"Damn that's useful," Tiffany said excitedly.

Blue opened his wallet and took a twenty out, tossing it back to him in the back seat.

"I need coffee. You want anything?" She asked.

"Coffee would be great; cream and two sugars?" Tiffany replied.

"What about you? Coffee?" Blue asked the owner of the car.

"Sure….. Coffee," He said idiomatically, making Blue snort and roll her eyes as she traipsed into the gas station and returned with coffee and an assortment of Hostess products for them to munch on.

Blue pulled out of the gas station and began shuffling through radio stations; missing her phone wholeheartedly as she surfed through country, jazz, classical, and rap until she finally (mercifully) landed on an alternative rock station.

She lit another cigarette as she drove and alternately took sips of her coffee, trying to keep her hands busy as Tiffany made small talk mindlessly and Blue answered her monosyllabically in an effort to give her the impression that she wanted it quiet.

Her mind wandered to Chuck and she suddenly felt homesick, wanting nothing more than to curl up in bed with snacks and coffee of their own as they binge watched Netflix and made out.

"That's a really beautiful bracelet," Tiffany suddenly chirped, and Blue's blood and venom ran cold when she fingered the heart charm with a smile.

"Thanks," She said tightly, taking her hand off the steering wheel and folding it into her lap.

"I'm sorry, I guess it just caught my eye. I've always had an eye for jewelry you know, that's why my boyfriend left me this before he died." Tiffany waved a huge engagement ring under Blue's nose.

"What?" Blue asked, her voice hollow as Tiffany's eyes welled with tears.

"We were gonna get married, Chucky and I. He left this for me at his apartment; I would've said yes. Oh God, I'm sorry. I just miss him so much!" She bawled, mascara running as Blue numbly handed her a pack of tissues from the console ; the muscles in her jaw working.

Blue was numb as she continued to drive; her entire life having dropped out from under her in a way she had never experienced.

Every fiber of her being ached as she drove to the trailer park as fast as she could; finding familiar landmarks the closer she got; lungs nearly bursting as she held in the scream of agony that she was longing to let free.

She sped by the cemetery as fast as she could; seeing Mort's car driving along near the lake and knowing that he must be looking for her. She wondered if Chuck was in the car with him….

Blue sighed in relief as she turned into the entrance of the trailer park, listening as Tiffany gave her directions to her Lot.

"Hey, can I come in for a second? I just want to wash my face," Blue asked, gesturing to her bloodstained cheeks and nose.

"Of course. Least I could do," She replied with a smile as she dug her keys out of her bra and unlocked her door.

Tiffany took off Blue's coat and handed it back to her, showing her where the bathroom was; but Blue had other ideas as she whipped around, holding her in a trance with her eyes.

Meanwhile, Chuck and Mort were combing through the crypts and mausoleums in search of Blue and the group of renegade vamps with Victor; the older Vampire leader in tow. The old bastard was so annoying that Chuck was almost wishing for sunrise to come early and fry his ass as he cast off one disdaining remark after another.

"Why didn't we send his ass with Rob and Sheri again?" He muttered to Mort, who snorted and shook his head.

"They can track their own kind a lot easier than we can," Mort replied, taking another cigarette from Chuck and lighting it with a sigh.

"It's a shame that you're so newly mated, or you could track her yourself." Victor drawled irritably, brushing dust and cobwebs from his cloak in the dark.

"What?!" Chuck and Mort both exclaimed in unison, Mort was choking on his last drag and Chuck was staring at Victor bug-eyed.

Victor glanced between them before rolling his eyes and sighing.

"Newly mated. I suppose there's no one in this dismal cemetery who can read auras and so you didn't know? Even when the stage was separating the two of you, the light connecting you was blinding. Quite distracting, I assure you." He sniffed.

"So, what exactly does that mean? I mean, I know what it sounds like, but I'm , uh, kind of lacking in finer details here," Chuck confessed as they shut the crypt they had been searching to move on to the next.

Mort looked like he was going to pass out he was so green.

"For Upir's?" Victor asked as they plodded across the grass.

"No, for fucking flamingos! What do you think?" Chuck asked impatiently.

Victor glared at him crossly for a moment before he continued.

"Upir's are joined with a mate once and it's for life; unlike vampires who have the ability to be polyamorous. For your kind, a special bond is created that goes much deeper than what human lovers would share. For Upir's, their mates are their family, their comrade, their best friend; so to speak. You should notice the ability to heal one another by drinking each other's venom and blood, the ability to converse telepathically, and your gifts and abilities should appear to be a yin and yang so to speak; whatever abilities she lacks, you will be able to compliment with your own and vice versa. Something more may appear over time, but I suppose that these initial abilities may not have appeared yet either? As the relationship is so new?" Victor asked curiously.

Chuck was floored.

"No….. they've started to appear already," He replied, thinking of how quickly he healed from Evie's attack, how Blue had stated that his pyrokinesis came naturally; whereas she had more prowess with water and air.

"What?" Mort asked with a frown.

"I'll uh, explain later." Chuck replied, nodding towards Victor.

He didn't really feel like explaining anymore than he had to in front of the old creep; it was bad enough that he had to find out that he and Blue shared this connection from him in the first place.

An hour later, Blue stumbled from the trailer, the ring clutched tightly in her fist and Tiffany unconscious within.

She frowned at the SUV parked out front; its owner still entranced in the back seat as she half stumbled down the steps, thick rivulets of blood oozing from her nose now as her energy was very nearly spent.

"Go home," She told him as she crumbled to her knees just beyond the car.

The guy looked around him confusedly before he climbed out of the car and returned to the driver's seat.

She closed her eyes as her vision swam, hearing the car start up and drive off.

She needed to get home.

Blue bent forward, folding into herself as she lay her forehead against her knees; the pain in her heart irreconcilable as she opened her palm and stared at the ring in the dark.

Something about it niggled and naggled at her brain, but she didn't know what as the moonlight caught the facets of the obnoxiously large diamond.

Gathering the last vestiges of her strength, which was really only fumes; she flitted one last time.

Dropping to her knees just within the cemetery gates, she dry-wretched as the world spun and she shivered, wincing when she could smell Tiffany's cheap perfume on her coat.

Blue stumbled back to her feet and hugged her coat more tightly about herself as she made her way across the grass, taking the less respectful route over the graves and through the tombstones back towards her house.

Everything ached inside of her and she wondered whether it was her need for blood and rest or heartbreak or a mixture of the two; sobbing softly as her house came into view and she realized that her keys were in her guitar case; which had also been left at the venue with her cellphone.

Could this night possibly get worse? Add having to break into your own fucking house on top of everything else because Yes. Yes, it could.

She wrenched a decent sized rock from the near-frozen earth of her driveway and smashed through the glass of her front door just as headlights framed her back and the sound of car doors opening and slamming closed made her shoulders sag as she turned around.

She had to look like fucking hell as she stood there aching; face, neck, and chest covered in her own expelled blood, not to mention that she was damned sure that her hair had seen better fucking days.

"Blue! Shit, I've been worried sick, I-

"Yeah, I'm sure that you have. But your Fiancée is fine, I got her back home in one piece." She interrupted coldly, tossing the ring at him and swaying on her feet.

"My _what?! _Blue, what the hell are you talking about?" He asked, picking up the ring and frowning at it before recognition dawned on him.

"I'm fucking tired. Going to bed," She slurred monosyllabically through barely concealed tears.

"Babe, wait! I don't know what that crazy bitch told you, but this isn't an engagement ring-" But she had already limped inside and shut the door.

"What the hell is it then?" Mort asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"Well, I shall be going now that you've relocated her." Victor excused himself, disappearing into the night.

"It's a ring I stole from one of my victims, but I don't know how the fuck my Ex got ahold of it and I have no idea why the fuck she would've told Blue that we were engaged! I broke up with her a week before I died! Look, it's got her initials engraved on the inside of the band. V.V.P; Vivian Van Pelt. I dumped her body into lake Michigan, look up my case online if you don't believe me!" Chuck said desperately, belatedly realizing that the truth was just barely making the situation better.

Mort studied the ring in the dark before handing it back to him.

"Well, I'll let Rob and Sheri know that she's back home. Just try to straighten this mess out with Akishla, she'll need your help in order to heal at the very least. I just don't envy your position; she's stubborn as hell when she's angry." Mort sighed, retreating back to his car as Chuck turned back towards the house.

The entire house was pitch black within as he shut the door behind him; the only source of light was the moonlight flooding through the windows as he raked a hand through his hair and made his way into the kitchen.

He opened the refrigerator listlessly, his hand hovering between blood and beer before choosing the latter and shutting the door with a sigh.

Chuck pulled Blue's laptop closer to him and powered it on, typing Vivian Van Pelt's name into the search bar and pulling up the articles that had been written after he had been gunned down about the murder of the fur coat heiress and the mystery of her missing diamond.

He sighed in relief when he discovered several of the articles even had photographs of the ring he now held in his hand.

Digging Blue's cell out of his pocket, he texted Mort the web addresses to the articles in question, wanting to clear his name as far as his batshit Ex was concerned.

The phone rang minutes later and the picture of Blue and Mort flashed across it.

"So, were you a crazed animal activist? Why the fur coat heiress? I'm just curious," Mort asked without preamble as Chuck leaned back in the chair.

"Well, I've never been too fucking crazy about the thought of broads running around in dead animal pelts unless I was watching a good Tarzan and Jane flick, but no, I wasn't an activist. Ms. Van Pelt had been a customer of my associate Eddie Caputo; used to buy coke and heroin from him, but one night she shows up and askes him if he knows anyone that'll off her Fiancé for $50,000. Eddie called me up and asked me if I was in the mood to finally use my skills for some profit, I kept telling him I didn't trust the bitch, but Eddie kept nagging me and when that didn't work, he told my Ex to try and help persuade me." He sighed, gulping down another swig of beer.

"So your Ex is a money hungry type?" Mort asked.

"What broad isn't? Tiffany would sell her grandma if she was out of cigarettes," Chuck scoffed, ditching the now empty bottle and grabbing himself another.

"Akishla isn't, but I know what you mean." Mort replied, pouring himself a brandy on the other end of the line.

"Yeah well, women like her are rare, aren't they? Anyhow, I did the job just to shut Tiff' the fuck up and get Eddie off my damn back. Ms. Van Pelt hands me a duffle bag, I figure fuck it, transaction settled. See, for a broad like that, $50,000 is a drop in the bucket. I figured that I had nothing to worry about, but when I got home I discovered a problem; the top notes on the stacks of money were real enough, but the rest of it was fuckin monopoly money so to speak," He explained, remembering the murderous look on Tiffany's face when she found out that they had been had.

"Ah, so she got her just desserts for backing out on a deal. I used to be a gambling man, I'm familiar with the practice." Mort said knowingly.

"Well, not right away. I went and I tried to reason with her at first, believe it or not Mort, I'm not that bad of a guy. I don't usually kill women; in fact she was my only female victim." Chuck sighed, lighting a cigarette and watching the whorls of smoke in the moonlight.

"So what happened then?" Mort pressed curiously.

"I went to talk to her, but she pulls a goddamn gun on me and tears her blouse; threatened to call the cops on me and say that I had tried to rape her, she had the phone in her hand and me at gunpoint when I grabbed her across the desk. We struggled for a few minutes and the gun went off; shot me right in the fuckin shoulder point blank range, hurt like a sonovabitch. I grabbed a paperweight and hit her in the temple, but the gun went off again about two inches from my ear; she wasn't giving up, so I hit her two more times. That's what killed her according to the news reports that I saw later. When she went down finally, I heard sirens approaching and I knew I had to hightail it the fuck outta there. She was wearing the ring and it caught my eye, so I grabbed it and ran for it; figured that I could hock it when the heat died down for my troubles." He confessed none too proudly.

"Better made plans," Blue hoarsed from the doorway, causing Chuck to nearly jolt from his seat in surprise.

"I'll uh, let you go." Mort said, cutting the call as she limped across the kitchen to the fridge.

Chuck dropped the phone to the table as he studied her in the dark; her hair hanging in damp waves from a shower and the smell of Jasmine and Lavender thick in the air.

"You heard all of that?" He asked, not knowing if he should be relieved that she knew the truth or ashamed because of it.

"Yeah," She sighed, stabbing a straw into a pouch of blood and crumpling into a chair across from him.

She looked so frail and small in that moment that Chuck climbed out of his chair and went to her side instantaneously.

"I'm sorry, it's just, everything she said sounded so fucking real! She was crying her fucking eyes out and the ring and I mean, she's so fucking pretty and I'm just this weird little blue-headed freak that killed you _again._" Blue croaked, swiping the tears from her face in annoyance.

Chuck did the only thing that he could think of to quiet her doubts in that moment; leaned forward and kissed her, cupping her face in his hands as he caressed the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.

Blue's skin was like ice, causing him to break the kiss with concern in his eyes.

"You need to drink a little from me and then you need to get to sleep; I know that you're fucking exhausted." He told her softly, pulling her gently to the crook of his neck and sighing when he felt her fangs sinking into him.

Chuck drank the blood pouch as he felt her take several strong pulls of blood from him in earnest before pulling away and leaning back into the chair with her eyes shut.

He kissed her forehead gently, gasping in shock when he realized that she transported them upstairs into bed.

Blue pulled him closer to her in the dark, kissing him gently in return, but he nudged her away reproachfully.

"Go. To. Sleep." He laughed as she pouted in return.

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," She muttered, her eyes shining with mirth in the moonlight.

"Apparently not," He quipped, caressing her face once more and frowning when he realized that her temperature hadn't improved.

Blue winced and grabbed her wrist, involuntarily shivering in pain and cold.

"What is it?" He asked, trying to look at her scars, but she jerked away.

"Its nothing, I'm fine." She replied tensely.

"Bullshit. Why won't you just tell me what's going on? I know that your scars are getting pinker and I'm pretty sure that they're hurting you, so just tell me why." Chuck pressed her, watching as she curled into a fetal position beside him and tears poured anew from her eyes.

"I can't," She sobbed, her shoulders shaking.

"No, you won't. There's a difference," He corrected her, frustrated by her stubbornness.

"When we were in the car and I asked you if we could just continue like we have been and you agreed to give me some time," She whispered, sniffling miserably.

"Blue, how much time am I supposed to give you here when there's obviously something wrong? You've drank from me and your skin is still like ice and you're in pain. Now, according to old man Victor, our bond is supposed to help you heal and it did before when you had those bruises on your face; all of a sudden, it isn't working the way it should. If this is supposed to be for life, which I'm assuming is eternity since Upir's are virtually immortal; that tells me that something pretty serious is going on here." Chuck blurted, sitting up in annoyance.

"Victor saw a bond between us?" She gasped, completely ignoring everything else he had just said.

"God dammit, Blue! I love you, but sometimes you make me wanna punch something!" He ranted, lighting a cigarette with shaking hands and carding his fingers through his hair.

She gaped at him in the orange glow of the Marlboro ultralight as he took the deepest drag that he could to calm his frayed nerves.

"What did you just say?" She whispered, not daring to believe her ears.

"I said that I loved you, and I wanna punch something." He grumbled, not meeting her eyes for fear of the rejection he was still afraid of finding there.

There was a moment of silence and stillness that settled in the air between them and seemed to stretch into eternity before Blue pulled him to her chest sharply; kissing him for all she was worth. The taste of him euphoric to her senses; a mixture of tobacco, blood, and the hops from the beer he had drank earlier.

She laughed as he dropped the cigarette in surprise, burning a hole into the comforter and hurrying to pat it out and toss the cig in the ashtray.

"I love you too," She murmured, meeting no resistance as she continued to kiss him in the dark.


	12. Chapter 12: Blue's Tale Of Woe

**Chapter 12:**

"John Doe…..6421…" Blue murmured in her sleep, causing Chuck to squint his eyes open in the dusky light of dawn that was filtering through the sides of the blackout curtains.

"Babe?" He husked sleepily, feeling disoriented as he rubbed the exhaustion from his eyes.

"6421…John Doe…..seventy-five percent burned…..6421," She gasped desperately, her head tossing on the pillow now as Chuck turned to face her.

"Hey….Babe, wake up." He shook her shoulder slightly, but she continued to thrash even more wildly.

"DAD!" She shrieked, sitting up and gasping for unneeded air as tears streamed down her face.

"Hey, hey, hey; shhh. It's okay," He quieted her softly, brushing the hair out of her face with concern.

Blue had her head in her hands, and she was shaking, trying to separate the dream world from the here and now.

"Sorry, I..uh….Go back to sleep," She stammered, snatching her phone from the nightstand to check the time.

"You know, I was just saying we could use a clock in here," Chuck yawned, raking a hand through his hair.

"As long as it's not a fucking cuckoo clock, then it's fine." Blue joked with a sniff, grabbing yoga pants, a tee, and underthings at random for a shower.

"You up for the day already?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, there's no way that I can ever sleep after…" She fell silent with a long breath before shrugging and heading towards the bathroom.

"After? Don't think that you're off the hook just because we fell asleep last night," He reminded her.

"Ugh. I know and I'll tell you everything, but I need a shower and coffee." She sighed, bathroom door open as always in invitation as she stripped and stepped beneath the spray.

Chuck took a piss and brushed his teeth, leaving the bathroom before the temptation of the shower distracted him.

After he changed clothes, he sauntered down to the kitchen and put the kettle on.

"I feel like my fuckin grandma," He groused as he poured some grounds into the press.

"You're the one that barbequed the Cuisinart," Blue teased from behind him, her wet hair tickling his cheek as she planted a kiss on his neck.

"Do they sell those on Amazon too?" He asked, his patience already thin with the archaic press.

"Dude, they sell everything on Amazon. Don't sweat it though, I think I'm going to upgrade us from here. Get something fancy that makes latte's and shit." Blue said with a smirk, pulling her laptop towards her.

"After we have this discussion thats been on hold since last night?" He asked pointedly.

"I can totally walk and chew gum." She pouted, closing out the tabs on Vivian Van Pelt that he had left open the night before and opening up Amazon on her favs.

"Okay," He replied with a wide sweep of his hand as though he were giving her the floor.

Blue took a deep breath as her coffee began to stir itself once more.

"This is a long story, but….. I'm going to _try _to be concise." She sighed as she studied the glint of her silver charm bracelet in the muted light that determinedly filtered through the curtains of the kitchen window.

"My parents were Gypsy's, as you've probably gathered from Evie. Our particular clan were European nomads; traveling back and forth between different parts of France, Germany, The Netherlands; even the United Kingdom at times. Our particular trade was earthen ware dishes, soaps, candles, and perfumed oils. There were some of my people that were entertainers as well; the usual Gypsy tradition of singers, musicians, and dancers. Then there were people… with other gifts; people like my Father and myself." She began, pausing to sip her coffee; her gaze was a million miles off.

"What kind of gifts?" Chuck asked curiously, taking the spoon from her coffee to still its unceasing rotations.

"Dad and I were special. I was born into a long line of Seers and Healers, but I had been born with a gift that was unexpected. A sixth sense so to speak." She replied, continuing to scroll through different café-grade merchandise online.

"You could see ghosts in other words," He supplied, and she nodded.

"I don't know what you may or may not know about our culture, but Gypsy's are very superstitious about death. After a person dies, you're not even supposed to speak their name aloud for fear of disturbing their rest. So you can understand why having this sight, this _gift _in particular, was considered a very bad sign. My parents were told that I was cursed," Blue scowled and Chuck rolled his eyes.

"Are you fuckin serious?! What the hell?" He huffed indignantly, making her smile softly.

"It didn't bother me really. For the most part people avoided me like the plague, which was fine with me because I was pretty much a loner and didn't want to deal with anyone's shit. My Mom and Dad were basically forbidden to have anymore children for fear that they'd end up like me or worse; there were even questions as to whether or not the marriage should be dissolved. Somehow my Dad was able to plead with the council of Elders to save their marriage; but under strict rules." She hunched her shoulders, as though the weight of the burden of the tale were already beginning to wear her down.

"Why in the hell would your parents put up with that shit? It's like fuckin child abuse!" Chuck exclaimed, already _hating _her parents and hoping they were both indeed dead.

Blue sighed softly and shut her laptop. So much for walking and chewing gum.

"You have to understand; my Mother and Father had been raised with our clan their entire lives, their culture and beliefs were the only thing they ever knew. But, as time went on and I got older my Father hated the isolation that they put us through, me in particular. So he appealed to the Elders again," Blue poured herself a second cup, staring into the cup as though it were full of the memories she were divulging.

"Oh yeah, because they were so fuckin _helpful _the first time." He muttered darkly.

Blue smiled at his indignation and bit her lip in hesitation.

"He uh," Blue sighed and cracked her knuckles to stall for a moment.

"He asked the Elders for permission to take his family and leave. Live with the _gadje_ as a _gadje_,"

"What does that mean?" He asked curiously.

"Oh….Gadje is a non-Roma, an outsider. The Elders were furious at his request; even though we were sort of isolated from the majority of the clan, we were still part of it. My Father was still a key advisor to the Elders because of his bloodline and the rest of the clan seeing him making a conscience decision to leave and live with the Gadje would be seen as a slap in the face. You know, Klingon dishonor and shit like that," She snorted, making him laugh.

"Well, after they treated you guys like shit what were they expecting exactly?" Chuck asked sarcastically.

"Loyalty. Loyalty to the clan is the most important thing, the first rule that you ever learn above all others." She replied with a shrug.

"Sounds like the fuckin Mob," He said coldly.

"It's not too far off actually," She laughed softly.

"So what happened?" Chuck prompted with interest.

"The Elders called a clan meeting and we were officially banished, but not before they told my Father that our entire family was cursed; that we had forsaken our people and that we were therefore forsaken. They prophesied that our footsteps would be damned, no matter which way we walked." Blue recalled.

"Jesus. How old were you at this point?" He asked, trying to imagine a child being told they were cursed, then banished and cursed again.

"By that time I was ten. We left straight away for America and we settled down not too far from here, but closer to the city. Dad had gotten a job as a landscaper at a university there and my Mother began waitressing at a couple of bars, they were able to make rent basically. They thought that the biggest hurtle to living as Gadje would be my burden to bear as I had never set foot in a school in my life. My Father was the person who had taken it upon himself to teach me up until then and it was a really varied curriculum; everything from reading and writing to herbal medicine, how to use a compass, how to use the shadows of the sun to tell time, etc. I never thought much about how dumb or smart I was, I just knew that he had taught me what I needed to know in order to survive and then some. I learned to read by the age of three and the clan were very short on Dr. Seuss and Nursery Rhymes, so I had been reading poetry, novels, travel guides, whatever I could get my hands on in various languages to boot. Books were my only company in my exile from normal clan life, and that's the only way I had to pass the time. Since I had no formal education, the school was at a damned conundrum as to what to do with me. So they locked me in a room with a teacher and a big fat aptitude test which I had apparently finished too early for their liking, so they made us wait for them to grade it. I remember that my Dad was pacing his ass off, couldn't sit still until they came back, but when they did they had another test in their hands. At first I was fucking mortified; I remember just standing there waiting for them to tell me that I was the dumbest person that had ever dared try to go to school. I figured that they had brought in another test because I had completely done the first one wrong," She laughed shakily at the memory, remembering her feelings of trepidation she had suffered; to be young again and have such small worries…..

"So you aced the test?" Chuck guessed.

"A little too well. They thought that my parents were lying when they said that I had never been to school, so I took the next test, then the next. They decided to stick me into Seventh grade and see how I faired, but six months later I was tossed into Eighth. So I was attending High School by the age of twelve after taking some extensive summer courses to prep me for ' The strain of high school life'," Blue said with air quotes, rolling her eyes.

"Wow. What the hell was that even like?" He asked her.

"It was pretty intense, to be honest. What bothered me the most in high school was the fucking crowds; everyone just milling around in the halls when I was trying to get to the next period. I wasn't used to being in the midst of soooo many people, especially since most of my own people had avoided me like the plague. My Freshman year went by in a blur because I was taking normal classes and they were all boring and basic and I was acing them with flying colors. My counselor was talking with my teachers, and then there was another big meeting with my parents and all these advanced placement college prep courses were discussed. That summer I was invited to take some college coursework on campus, and I was excited because some of it actually challenged me. A month before actual school was going to be back in session, my Mother was killed at work. She spurned some drunk assholes advances and he pulled out a gun and shot her in the face," She paused to take a sip of her coffee, a strange lack of emotion present as Chuck gaped at her.

"Shit, that sucks. I'm sorry," He said awkwardly, but Blue just shrugged.

"My Mother and I really weren't that close. I think that she was kind of afraid of me too; she never really spent a lot of time with me. Her death effected my Father really badly though, because for the first time since we had left the clan the Elders words were coming back to him. He became almost schizophrenically paranoid that something was going to happen to me next, so I was forbidden to leave the house besides school. Nothing in the outside world really interested me anyways, so I just threw myself into my studies even more and by the age of sixteen, I was beginning my freshman year in college and by the age of nineteen, I was beginning medical school. But just as much as I was flourishing, that's as much as my Dad was crumbling. He had started drinking when Mom died, but by the time that I was starting med school, he was a complete mess." Here Blue's voice trembled, and she drained her coffee before pouring more.

"Was he….violent then? When he drank?" Chuck asked her when he saw the sadness in her eyes.

"No. Maybe it would have been better if he had been, but he wasn't. He was just so fucking miserable all of the time and he used to almost fucking resonate this pain; it was like a palpable thing. Through all of this shit, his work never ever suffered; he never missed a day, was never even late! He had become friends with the Dean over the years, and the dean promoted him little by little until he was the head of the janitorial department. It was a really good position because he didn't have to work outside in the cold anymore and there were people that took direction from him for a change, but even that left him feeling hollow. I started singing in a friends band at that point to make a little money and my vocals started landing us more and more jobs, so I wasn't home as much as I used to be. When I turned twenty-one I just couldn't take it anymore and I moved out, I just couldn't watch his despair and the goddamn drinking was getting to me. It was like he wasn't even my Father anymore, not the man that I had grown up with anyways. It was like he had died even before…." Blue swallowed and took a breath, shutting her eyes for a moment to try and gather herself together.

"Blue….if you need to stop.." Chuck said hesitantly, but she shook her head.

"So anyways, I moved out into a little one bedroom in a halfway decent neighborhood and between our band gigs and school, I never really had any free time. Dad would call me every other day and then it was a couple times a week, but I was such a brat! I was so absorbed in my own shit that I just started ignoring his calls and not returning them sometimes. I just didn't want to be around his damned depression because unbeknownst to myself; I was dealing with my own by running away and keeping busy. When I did talk to Dad he was always asking me the same shit; if I was okay, if I needed money, if I needed anything for school. He would come by the apartment and I'd usually be gone; I spent the majority of my time at school or the library or at the hospital once my residency began. He'd slip notes under my door and little envelopes with cash, sometimes I didn't even call him to thank him." She sniffed, swiping a tear away irritably.

"Then our band had started getting a lot of gigs at local bars and clubs and sometimes I'd see him in the crowd. He told me that he was terrified that I was going to get hurt, you know? Like my Mom." Blue got up and went to the fridge, pulling out blood for both of them and slamming the door shut; more to have something to do with her hands than anything else.

"I'd have probably done the same thing; groupies can get obsessive. Look at what happened to Lennon?" Chuck reasoned, making Blue give a watery laugh.

"We were nowhere near Beatles popularity." She scoffed lightly.

"You never know though." He shrugged, taking the pouch of blood she handed him along with the metal straw.

"He would just linger in the background until I got back in my friends' car safe, then he'd leave. Then one day, he just shows up at my place with car keys and a title and Bessie. For no reason at all, you know? Just because," She said, shaking her head at the memories of her Father's generosity and love.

"He wanted you to have a car, so you'd be safer," Chuck surmised, and she nodded.

"At that point, I broke down and I was bawling like a baby and I was just begging him to stop drinking. He looked so thin and so grey and old and defeated; it just broke my fucking heart to see him like that." Blue sobbed, head bowed and hair curtaining her face.

Chuck flinched; he had never been good with tears. At a loss for exactly how he should comfort her, he slid a napkin towards her and scooted his chair closer, entwining his fingers with her own.

"Sorry," She sniffed, wiping away her tears with the napkin and nibbling on her bottom lip.

"It's fine, I'm the one asking you to talk about all this shit." He shrugged apologetically.

"I uh… haven't really ever told anyone all of this. Mort knows bits and pieces, but not everything, and I try not to think about it too much. It's good to tell someone though, and to be honest, I'm glad that it's you." She confessed.

Chuck smiled softly and it was genuine; maybe they were only ever really themselves around each other.

"So, Dad just tells me that I didn't understand what all of this was like on him and I blew up at him pretty bad. I told him that he had lost his wife; but I felt like I had lost _both _of my parents, I told him that it was like he had already fucking _died,_ and I was just seeing another ghost that was just like the others that I saw. I told him that it wasn't my goddamned fault that he left the clan, it's not like I had told him or asked him to. I was fine being the outcast, the ghost seer who conversed with the dead; I didn't give a shit. Then I said something that I think pushed him over the edge; I told him that maybe he was ashamed of me too and that's why he ran away from his own people, that maybe he couldn't bear the stigma of having such a weird fucking daughter. I said that all I had ever been was a burden to him and he could just walk the fuck out of my life and go back home; go back to his own kind. It would have been better if he had," Blue sighed shakily, sipping the blood slowly because she felt so incredibly hollow in that moment.

"Wow….." He sighed, unsure of what else to say.

"So, he tells me that he has a bunch of vacation time saved up and he was going to take off of work for a while and sort things out. Even after all the shit I said, he still kissed me goodbye and told me that he loved me and that he was proud of me and that he would never be ashamed of me. I didn't realize it then, but that was his way of saying goodbye permanently," Blue gulped, wrapping her arms around herself as though she were trying to hold herself together.

Chuck tugged one of her hands loose from the death grip she was holding herself in and brushed a kiss across her knuckles, letting the minutes stretch on as she finished her blood.

"How did he die?" He finally asked.

"He was planning for his vacation time and bought a roundtrip ticket to London; I thought that he was going to go looking for some old acquaintances abroad or something. I didn't really give it much thought because my residency was picking up speed and I was at the hospital doing rounds at least three or four times a week. Then one day, three burn cases show up from an explosion on campus at the university Dad worked at, but I shrugged it off because I thought my Dad is probably in London, right? I mean, I feel sorry for the poor bastards that got singed, but I went on my merry way doing my rounds. Two of them were admitted to the hospital as 'John Doe's' because they were burned beyond recognition, one of them eventually gets identified postmortem due to his dental records…but the other man was a mystery, barely clinging to life in intensive care, no dental records and nobody coming by the hospital to claim him. One of the surgeons I was working under just happened to have me round on that floor, in that room, for that patient that day. I was just doing normal procedural things for him; we were debriding wounds on his arms and chest, but when the nurses repositioned him so we could debride the ones on his back, I saw his tattoo. A dragon tattoo that he had gotten when he was barely a teenager. I told them that it was my Father and all of a sudden it seemed like all Hell had broken loose in that room, he flatlined out of nowhere. He had third degree burns to over seventy percent of his body, there was really no coming back from that, especially back then. Things just weren't as perfected medically as they are now, and he really had no chance of survival. I can't imagine how much pain he was in; he had been there for days as a John Doe, he had been there for days with doctors and surgeons just making the best decisions for him that they could, but….. if I would have only known sooner, maybe I could have done something else or at least made him more comfortable." She said angrily, the raw and crushing feeling of guilt overwhelming her as it rose once more to the surface.

"Blue, there wasn't anything that you could've done." Chuck assured her quietly, knowing that she was blaming herself.

"They worked on him for almost an hour, but he was gone. They left me alone in the room with him to say goodbye, but I was numb. This… this scalded, red, misshapen pile of flesh couldn't have been my Father; it didn't resemble the man I knew one iota. I was just frozen as I stood there staring at the corpse, I was in shock and I wasn't thinking clearly. I just pulled the sheet over his face and left the hospital, I needed air and I needed answers. I called his boss, the Dean of the university and asked him what had happened because the news reports were brief and concise and just said that the explosion was being investigated. He told me that he wasn't sure why Dad was at work that day, on campus in that particular building, but as far as they could tell the boiler had malfunctioned and the pilot light had gone out." Blue pulled out her pack of cigarettes from her pocket and the trusty beaten and dented zippo, flicking it open and staring at the flame as though it would consume her.

"This was my Dad's lighter. It was found at the scene and returned to me with his lunch pail and some other miscellaneous shit from his locker. Supposedly, Dad had been down in the boiler room working on some pipes and he had decided to take a break and have a smoke, not realizing that the pilot light was out, and the room was filling with gas. Hence, the explosion being ruled as an accident; like he just wasn't paying attention that day. His boss knew our situation, so he expedited the insurance payout so I would have the money to bury him as well as a little extra to get through school. My Dad had worked at that university for over a decade; he knew every single building and every single part of the grounds like the back of his hand. There was no way that the explosion was an accident, there was no way that he wouldn't have smelled the gas; he had chosen a building that was closed for remodeling and he decided to kill himself there. The other two men that were burned in the explosion were working outside and I don't think he realized that he was taking anyone else out with him. Part of me thinks that his boss knew the truth too, but he kept his mouth shut so the insurance wouldn't refuse to pay." She lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, tossing the zippo down on the table with a harsh metallic _thunk _as though it had bit her.

"Jesus Blue, I'm sorry." He said sincerely.

"It's okay….it's just life. It sucks," She shrugged; never really having high expectations.

"Where did you bury him?" Chuck asked curiously, a part of him already knowing the answer.

"Here. That's how I met Mort. Dad's insurance policy paid out $200,000 and I didn't want a fucking penny of it; it felt like cursed blood money to me and I felt dirty with it sitting in my bank account. I came here to meet with Mort, and I signed a check for that exact amount; $200,000. I asked him what that would get Dad, and he ripped the check up and gave me a tumbler of brandy to drink to calm me down. He….. he told me that I reminded him of his Daughter that he had lost a long time ago; poor fucking Mort. There we were, the two of us morbidly depressed mutherfuckers who had both lost every single person that we had ever given a fuck about, drinking away our goddamn sorrows like I had stopped at a bar instead of a cemetery." Blue recalled with a chuckle.

"I can almost picture that," Chuck said with a smirk, imagining Mort and Blue, one desperately trying to comfort the other even though they were both in so much pain.

"Well, Mort refused to accept my money. He told me to pick out whatever I wanted for Dad and not to be shy. All I really could think of was a nice headstone in black and grey granite, but Mort outdid himself. Dad is in his own crypt made out of the granite that I had chosen, and he made sure that there was room for me in there too, for when I would die. The irony of the thought," She chuckled darkly and shook her head.

Chuck lit a cigarette and fetched a bottle of Jack Daniels and two cans of Pepsi from the fridge, pouring a good two fingers of Jack before adding the soda and handing it to her.

"Its not even noon yet," She sniffed as she accepted the glass from him.

"It's five o'clock somewhere," He reasoned with a wink, making her chortle.

"Fuckin A, Dude." She agreed, clinking her glass with his before gulping down a good swallow; the liquor rendering a satisfying burn on the way down.

"What happened then? You go back to the hospital for a while?" He asked.

"No, I couldn't. Every time I would even think about it, all I saw was Dad dying practically in my arms. If I couldn't even save my own Father, then how would I be able to save anyone else? I stayed holed up in my apartment for days on end smoking cigarette after cigarette. The phone rang and there were knocks on the door, but I refused to answer either. The band wasn't getting gigs anymore even though they had replaced me with a different singer, I wasn't eating, and I was barely drinking water. Every day just ran into the next and the next and the next. Then one day the phone rings and I decided to answer it just to tell whoever was on the other end to fuck off, but it was Mort. He told me that he couldn't get his mind off of me and wondered if I was okay. I asked him if he was that concerned for all of his non-paying customers and we had a laugh and then I broke down and cried. He invited me over for dinner and drinks to get out of the apartment, but I told him I couldn't because I hadn't showered for two weeks and I had barely changed clothes; he told me that he handled decomposing corpses for a living so it would be fine whether I showered or not." Blue laughed.

"So you got out of the house finally I take it?" He said and she nodded.

"I showered and changed though; I wasn't going to be that gross. When I got to Mort's, he had already made lasagna and had poured me a brandy. He asked about the hospital, but I told him that I wasn't going back; then he asked about the band and I told him that they had replaced me, and I wasn't interested in singing or music anymore. I wasn't really interested in anything. He asked me how I felt about mortuary science and I looked at him as though he were insane, but then he shrugged it off and said that if I was afraid I would hurt the living then why don't I just try working with the dead. He asked me if the thought of handling a dead body would bother me, but I said no. Hell, I _saw the ghosts of dead people all of the time._ What would the difference be if I were seeing spirits and actual dead bodies? Mort said that I could apprentice under him and he would help me with the certifications I would need and for a while, that was enough, and everything was just moving along. Mort gave me this little coach house and I tried to just stay fucking numb, I tried really hard to do what I needed to do and just get through each day, but I couldn't get the image of Dad's body out of my head. One night, I took the scalpel from my med kit and some booze and cigs and went to his crypt, I was already a little tipsy and I had taken some pills that I shouldn't have…. And then I slit my wrists." Blue confessed brokenly, her fingers tracing one of her scars distantly.

"You died that night," Chuck said quietly.

"Yeah, only I didn't. Mort had found me in the crypt; no pulse and stiff with rigor. I woke up two days later in one of the drawers and found out pretty quickly about my telekinesis when I used it to get the fucking door open so I could slide out. I wrapped myself in a sheet and stumbled my ass back to the house confused as fuck, I had no clear memory of what happened to me. I got dressed, saw the scars on my wrists and called Mort; needless to say had he been alive, he would've had a goddamn heart attack. When he had confirmed that I had indeed been dead, I started to remember these superstitions that my Dad had told me about when I was little. I had laughed at him, but a few of the braver clan folk had told me to head his warnings and told me that the superstitions were true. I hadn't thought about those stories since we had left our people behind in Europe, but now that I was mysteriously back from the dead with no explanation, I thought of them again. I was scared shitless at first; I mean, could I go out in sunlight? Was I going to randomly lash out and kill some poor fucker because I was thirsty? Then I was terrified of being in the same room with Mort, even when he told me about his special… condition. I told him that I had to go away for a while and I needed answers," Blue lit another cigarette and tapped her nails on the tabletop for a moment before downing the rest of her drink and pushing her glass towards Chuck for a refill.

He obliged, pouring them three fingers each before topping it with soda and passing her drink over.

"Where the hell did you go for answers?" Chuck asked cluelessly.

"My people," She replied, as though it were obvious.

"Oh yeah, because they were always so fuckin helpful." He said sarcastically.

"Well where was I supposed to go?! Its not like I could go to a library and look up anything useful or factful about Upirs or Vampirism! You either get a bunch of urban legends and myths or you get Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Frank Langella! And trust me, none of that shit is useful. Hell, as much as technology has advanced now if you type in Upirs and Vampires into a google search bar all you'll get is a bunch of shit about Twilight!" Blue scoffed irritably.

"What _the fuck _is Twilight?" Chuck asked disdainfully.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know." She assured him with a dark chuckle; the booze finally making her feel a little warm and fuzzy as her venom interacted with it.

"So what did they tell you? Anything useful?" Chuck asked skeptically.

"Pfft. I had to fucking find them first! That alone took me three years backpacking like a hippie across Europe and the UK. Gypsies are constantly on the move and we're pretty fucking persecuted, so we tend to hide. Once I did find them, none of them wanted to help me, they didn't want anything to do with me at all. You know, first the whole ' I see dead people' shit, then the 'Hi, I'm supposed to be dead, but I'm not' shit. I mean, if you look at the situation objectively; you can't really blame them for wanting to fucking bail on me." She sighed, leaning back in her chair until she was more comfortably slouched. She thought about moving to the couch in the living room but wasn't sure she could muster up the energy.

"If you want to, we'll move. I wouldn't say no to curling up with you in front of the fireplace anyways," Chuck said absently as he topped off their drinks with more liquor.

"What?" Blue asked in astonishment.

"You were just saying that you wanted to move to the couch," Chuck said with a frown.

"I didn't say shit, I was _thinking _that. Holy fuck," Blue sat up straight, looking at him wide-eyed.

"We going or what?" He asked nonchalantly.

"The fuck? So you don't think that this is a big deal?!" She exclaimed agape as he took his refilled glass and headed towards the living room with a slight sway in his step; the liquor was beginning to hit him a little too.

"I might panic a little tomorrow when I'm not buzzed, but I doubt it." He quipped as she made her way to the couch and sunk into the plush cushions as she lay on her side, inviting him to spoon beside her.

Chuck set his glass down next to hers and lay down beside her, sinking into her curves; his head comfortably cushioned by her ample breasts.

They were both silent for a moment as they settled in, Blue curling her arm around his waist and placing a series of sensual kisses at the back of his neck, causing a pleasant tingle to run down his spine.

He traced lines absently down her arm until his fingers met the textured raised flesh of her scar and she jumped involuntarily as he lightly brushed his thumb across it.

Chuck turned then in her arms and frowned at her as she studied him with a guarded expression. He took her hand and traced over the scar again lightly with his fingers, his gaze willing her to trust him.

"I told you before that these don't bother me. I just want to know why they're getting worse and why they seem like they're hurting you sometimes now. I guess I'm just worried about you," He confessed, making her sigh.

"If I tell you something, then you have to promise me that you won't freak out. I….. I just don't want all of this to change anything between us. Promise me, please." She half sobbed and he nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"I promise." He replied earnestly.

Blue took a deep breath and let it out slowly, but her body betrayed her doubts as he felt her tremble against him.

"My death day is in three and a half weeks," She murmured, her eyes brimming with tears as she gazed at him solemnly.

"Okay, we'll ask Mort for the day off and we can go somewhere or do something to take your mind off of it. I know how it is, mine is coming up too." He assured her, but she shook her head vehemently as a small sob escaped her and the tears she was desperately trying to hold in ran in rivulets down her cheeks.

"You don't understand, my death day is different." Blue gasped out, squeezing her eyes shut at the thought of it.

"Different how?" Chuck asked, a feeling of trepidation creeping up along his spine.

"Every year on my death day…. I die again, but only for a couple of days. It just hurts like hell and I relive every moment of my Father's death and my suicide and its really, really painful. Physically and mentally and shit," She gulped as his eyes widened in shock and he felt his heart sink into his gut.

"What do you mean? Does this happen to every Upir?" He asked in shock, unable to comprehend the hell that she was going to endure; that she had apparently endured for years.

"It happens to some, but it won't happen to you because you were made different; just like it won't happen to John 5. It only happens to the Upirs that were created by suicide, it's a Gypsy curse in my case." She replied, telekinetically zapping her drink into her hand and downing half of it in one gulp.

"A curse? Then why didn't your Dad-

"I cremated him before he could turn I think, I guess even the curse and the venom couldn't withstand that and survive." She shrugged sadly, making Chuck blanche.

"Ugh fuck, I'm so sorry Blue. But why are your scars changing now? Isn't it a bit early?" He asked.

"The month leading up to my death day is fucking miserable; my scars get thinner and thinner and my wrists ache because they're preparing to split open and my energy sucks. Not to mention the venoms ability to heal me slows down to near dormant hibernation. It's the universes way of telling me to go fuck myself." She sighed.

Chuck winced and wrapped an arm around her as he absorbed everything she had told him.

"Mort and I won't let you go through this alone though, we'll stay with you; or at least I will." He assured her; startled when she bolted upright and nearly unseated him.

"Are you fucking nuts? Nobody stays with me on my death day! Its fucking miserable and its unbearable to go through, so I can only imagine what it's like to watch. Mort never stays with me, and I don't want you staying with me either! You can go hang out at Mort's or I can go to my Dad's crypt until it's over." She replied, her tone brooked no argument.

But Chuck was stubborn as fuck.

"You think that I'm just gonna go drink a couple margarita's at Mort's while you lay here and die alone? What are you fucking nuts? I'm staying with you, Blue. Whether you fucking like it or not," He said adamantly.

She opened her mouth as though to argue but he covered it with his hand.

"Shut it. You aren't winning this one toots," He declared as she glared at him before licking his hand.

Chuck snorted at her childishness and wiped his hand on his jeans.

"Ya know….. if you were eager to lick something….." He trailed off suggestively.

"I thought you'd never ask." She murmured with a smirk as she made quick work of his pants and they sank into the cushions of the couch once more.


	13. Chapter 13: From Poland, With Love

**Chapter 13**

At some point Chuck had lit the fire and tossed the large faux fur throw that Blue usually draped over the couch over both of them and curled back into her embrace. The morning passed into the afternoon, and when the doorbell rang Chuck groaned and sat up groggily, shaking Blue's shoulder gently to rouse her.

"I swear to fuck I'm killing whoever is at the fucking door," She growled lowly before tossing the throw off and hurriedly tugging her clothes back on.

"Sounds like a plan," He yawned, pulling his jeans back on but having no energy to deal with his shirt.

"Hey, uh…. Chuck Ray?" The UPS guy was back.

"I'll sign for it," She smirked, taking the pad from him.

"New Co-worker? You used to be here by yourself," UPS guy asked pryingly.

"Nope, Boyfriend. We just got done fucking before you rang the bell and interrupted. Anything else you wanna know?" She asked bluntly, shoving the pad back into his hands before snatching Chuck's package from him and smiling sweetly into his shocked face.

"No? Okay, have a good one then." Blue replied cheerily before slamming the door into his face.

Chuck was wheezing with laughter as she returned to the sofa with the small parcel.

"I thought we weren't allowed to scare the delivery people," He chuckled.

"_You _aren't allowed to scare them. Besides, he's a nosy pervy little ferret and I'm sick of him." She sighed as she plopped back onto the sofa beside him.

"I don't remember ordering anything else," Chuck frowned as he ripped the box open and discovered a brand-new cell phone similar to the one Blue had.

"It's from Mort," She said knowingly.

Chuck fiddled with it for a moment before turning it on and frowning at the screen.

"Lemme help you. I keep forgetting how _old _you are," She teased, nudging him with her shoulder as he scoffed.

"I didn't hear you complaining earlier," He replied, watching as she easily set up the device for him and added her number as well as Mort's into the Contacts.

"Yeah, I got a thing for older guys I guess. I should be repulsed," She murmured against his neck before giving his ear a nip and handing him the phone.

Chuck straddled her lap easily, the phone forgotten on the couch cushion beside him as his hand reached into her shirt to palm her breast, his lips claiming hers expertly.

A dance that they both knew the steps to by now.

Blue's phone pinged and she groaned again as they broke apart.

"Seriously considering moving us to a fucking island," She groused as he snorted derisively.

"I don't know if they can make delivery's that far out, plus the sun would be a pain in the ass." He reminded her, shifting off of her as she plucked her phone from the coffee table.

"Rob. He's wondering how John 5 is," She sighed, rolling her eyes.

"You know, I forgot he was in the bus in the back until you mentioned him." Chuck gasped, shaking his head.

Blue was one hell of a distraction….

"I told him he's got 48 to 72 hours to cook for the billionth time! I can't Upir people any faster than that when they've already been dead! Sheesh." She sighed, pulling herself into a standing position and heading towards the kitchen.

"He's probably just freaking out and shit," He shrugged, looking through the various Apps on the phone screen.

"You want coffee and blood? I can download Netflix on there for you and give you the password and shit," She offered as he followed her.

"Why would I need Netflix on here? We always watch it together upstairs," He reasoned, and she chuckled.

"I don't know. What if I put on some shit that you don't wanna watch?" Blue asked as she filled up the kettle.

"You always watch slasher flicks and scary shit, what's not to like?" Chuck asked.

"I don't know. I was thinking of making some popcorn and watching something else until we have to start work tonight; something funny that I haven't seen in a long time." She mused, groaning once more as the doorbell rang again.

"Deep breaths," He reminded her as she rolled her eyes and stomped off to see who the hell it was this time.

"Hey 'Kish" Mort greeted when she pulled the door open.

"Oh. Hey," She replied, hackles back down as she lead him to the kitchen.

"Hey Chuck," He said as Blue added a third coffee cup to the table.

"Hey. Thanks for the phone," Chuck said awkwardly. Peopling was definitely not his strong suit.

"Yeah, no problem. Now we can talk shit about Akishla, and she won't find out," He joked, prompting a mock glare from her.

"French press, huh? Tired of the Cuisinart?" Mort asked, as she poured coffee for all of them.

"Something like that," She said as she grabbed a pack of Oreos from the pantry and plunked it down on the table.

"I set fire to it by accident. New capability that I didn't know I had yet," Chuck confessed sheepishly.

"Yeah, 'Kish went through the same thing for a while." Mort shrugged, pulling a pipe from his pocket and a packet of loose shag.

"Oh boy, what's wrong?" Blue asked as soon as she saw him begin packing shag into his pipe.

Mort sighed and rolled his eyes as he lit his shag and the smell of tobacco and cherries filled the room as he puffed.

"How's your Polish?" Mort asked with a sigh.

"Uh, workable I think. Probably rusty since I haven't used it in forever, but languages are kind of like riding a bike. Once you start talking, it comes back to you bit by bit. Why?" She asked curiously.

Mort looked across the table at Chuck for a moment before giving a mental shrug and continuing.

"You remember my golfing buddy George?" He asked and Blue frowned.

"Yeah….?" She trailed off, biting into an Oreo and wrinkling her nose.

"Well, you know that his daughter went off to college this year? They're part of this exchange student program now, and they've got this college student from Poland staying with them for a few months. The problem is that George's polish is remedial at best, but last night the girl comes running out of the guest room scared shitless. She said- to the best of George's knowledge- that something was in her room and spoke to her. She used a word that he really didn't understand to describe it, and they literally had to beg her to remain in the house. He went up to her room and he heard this growling and saw a pair of red eyes staring at him from the closet, so he hightailed it the fuck out of there. George thought about you right away because of what you did for his son after the accident," Mort explained as Blue stirred her coffee thoughtfully.

"Would she talk to me on the phone? I need to ask her some questions, so I know what I'm dealing with and what to bring. I'll need to talk to George too." She said, standing and retrieving a notebook from the junk drawer in the kitchen.

"Can you even deal with this right now? With your strength fading little by little?" Chuck asked her, giving Mort a pointed look as though he were losing his mind.

"It depends on what we're dealing with, but it's pretty early; my death day is still three and half weeks away." She replied with a shrug.

"Oh good, you told him." Mort sighed in apparent relief.

"Your scars are already changing and hurting you, I think that that qualifies as enough of a reason to be careful," Chuck argued, causing Blue to roll her eyes and scoff.

"See? This is one of the biggest reasons that I didn't want to tell you shit! I don't need you _and_ Mort treating me like some fragile little princess made of fucking glass," She huffed, grabbing her phone and searching for George in her contacts.

"I'm not treating you like that! Jesus fuck, _if there's one thing that I'm aware of; _it's that you aren't fragile. I just….." Chuck was at a loss for words.

"Worry," Mort finished, puffing away at his pipe.

Blue rolled her eyes and dialed George, who answered on the first ring.

"Akishla?" He answered hopefully.

"Somebody call ghostbusters?" She deadpanned, making George chuckle on the other end.

"Something like that. It's so weird, I just feel different now that we're out of the house but last night was pretty terrifying to be honest with you. It wasn't just the way it _looked; _it was the way this thing made me _feel._ Something beyond evil…. Just malevolent. I just felt so angry, like….almost like I could've killed someone," He confessed uneasily, making Blue frown.

"So, lemme get this straight; you've never seen this thing before? Is Exchange Girl staying in Jenna's room or the guest room?" She asked, flipping her laptop open and pulling up google once again.

"The guest room, why?" George asked curiously.

"Anyone else stay in there recently?" She asked, scribbling things down on her notebook.

"No. We don't really have many visitors. I think that the last folks before Marla came were the in-laws last Christmas, but all was quiet until-

"Where's Marla from?" She interrupted, scrolling through her google search.

"Uh, some place near Krakow. Wileyco? Something like that…." George frowned.

"Wieliczka?" She corrected with a laugh.

"There ya go," He replied.

"Okay. Is she there? Can I talk to her?" Blue asked urgently, scribbling something else down on her notebook.

Chuck watched her work with interest as she scrolled through different pages on her laptop and held the phone in the crook or her neck and shoulder as she waited for the girl to get the phone. He thought it was insane how she switched from cemetery night watchman to musician to paranormal investigator. She was definitely multi-faceted and multi-talented, but Chuck was intrigued by the mystery of Blue and how much he still had to learn about her…..

"Witaj? Czy to jest Marla?" She asked.

"Yes, this is Marla. I speak English a little," Marla answered in an anxious voice.

"Okay, good. So, this strange flu-like virus has been affecting people in Wieliczka and they still cleared you for travel? I'm looking at articles going back about two months or so. Was anyone you live with back home affected?" asked Blue curiously.

"Yes, my Mother was taken to hospital and she got better, but before I left I think she was getting bad again. Why you ask this?" Marla asked, startled.

"Because if this thing is what I think it is, then it's definitely not the flu going around your town. It's something else," She replied.

"Like what?" Marla asked in a guarded tone.

"Anyone else at home sick like your Mom?" Blue pressed eagerly.

"No, it's only us at home. My Father died five years ago," Marla said softly.

"Have you seen this thing before Marla? Because I think that it followed you here, and I think that you thought that you could run from it." Blue guessed; the silence greeting her on the other end a dead giveaway.

"My Mother saw it, and I thought that she was crazy. Last night I heard it speak to me, but I didn't see it." Marla replied.

"Anything else that I should know about? Any other supernatural happenings that you know of?" Blue asked suspiciously.

"A couple of months ago, I had friends over for my birthday….. we were playing with a spirit board. Nothing bad happened that night….. but the night after, Mother said she saw something. That was the first time, I think. But she hasn't been right since Father died, so I just thought that she was under stress." Marla sighed.

Blue rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Where's the board? Was it your board?" She asked.

"It's mine, I bought it from a resale shop. It's… it's in the closet at the house." Marla confessed.

"You _brought it with you?_ Why exactly? Just spit it out!" Blue demanded, losing patience with the girl.

"I though that if I used the board here that I could just let it go here and it would leave my Mother alone! I just used it to talk to my Father and I thought it was him," She sighed.

"Listen to me, there are Paranormal Experts and Advisors that will not go near a Spirit Board or Ouija Board with a ten-foot pole; _especially _not a used one! A lot of things can go horribly wrong in a situation like this as you've seen. There are a lot of things waiting on the other side of those boards and they're ready and willing to prey on a novice practitioner's trust, especially if you're trying to contact someone that you've lost. Have you used the board here? Did you try to release it or draw it out last night?" Blue asked warily.

"Yes," Marla finally admitted.

"Okay, put George back on." She said, carding her fingers through her hair.

"What are you going to do?" Marla asked skeptically.

"Put it back obviously! Now, put George on." She replied, wanting to throttle the girl.

"Hey Akishla. So what do we do now?" He asked uncertainly.

"Where are you guys right now?" She asked curiously.

"We.. uh, ran off to the cabin last night. Annie was pretty shaken up and just wanted to get out of the house," George admitted.

"Okay, spare key anywhere?" Blue asked hopefully.

"Under the planter next to the door, but I don't think that we locked up honestly." He said with a nervous laugh.

"Yeah, cause who needs to lock up when you have a guard-demon to watch the house?" She quipped, closing her laptop with a frown.

"Listen, I know that you helped us after Joe died, but if this is too much for you to handle-

"No, it's fine. I mean, who else are you going to call for this? Without getting carted off to the funny farm, I mean." Blue reasoned.

"True. Is there anything you need? That I can actually help with?" George asked doubtfully.

"Nope. I'll call you when Jack is back in the box," She replied, disconnecting the call and closing her notebook.

"So, you know what it is now?" Mort asked.

"Dziwozona," She sighed with certainty.

"Oh, well that sounds harmless enough." Chuck said sarcastically.

"Translation?" Mort asked curiously.

"Polish water demon. Female. Bitchy," Blue surmised.

"How'd it get into a board?" Chuck wondered aloud.

"The board was probably used to trap the damned thing at one point or another, but whoever trapped it didn't dispose of the board properly," She replied, shaking her head.

"How the hell do you plan on getting it back in?" Mort demanded, looking worried.

"A magician never reveals her secrets," Blue sniffed.

"Really? Well, prepare to reveal them today." Chuck stated firmly.

"You're coming with me? Not enough excitement in your life with an Upir cooking in the bus back there and Vampires trying to drink your Ex dry?" She laughed.

"You should've let them," He groused once again, looking thoroughly put out.

"Agreed," Mort muttered, earning a slap on the arm from Blue.

"Mortimer behave," She growled warningly.

Chuck snuck him a high-five behind her back and they both began snickering malevolently.

"Ugh. Boys," She murmured.

"So, what time are we leaving?" Mort asked, halting Blue in her tracks.

"What do you mean _we?"_ She asked, turning around slowly.

"Why do you guys get to have all the fun?" Mort asked with a shrug.

"Okay, I really don't even want Short, ginger, and grumpy to come with; let alone _you."_ Blue replied in irritation.

"Hey, hey, hey! Easy on the _short,"_ Chuck frowned, crossing his arms petulantly.

"Fine. Ginger and grumpy," She amended, earning a snort from their boss.

"Sounds like the name of a pub," He muttered, making Blue groan.

"Can we just all agree that it's only Chuck and I going on a fieldtrip tonight? You and Carlos are going to have to patrol the cemetery," She reminded him.

"What if you need backup or something?" Mort reasoned, causing Blue to chuckle darkly.

"No offense, but what the fuck do you think you can do even if we do need backup? Bring the industrial Hoover and some holy water and pray for the best?" She retorted.

"I don't know! Maybe I could be on standby with Holy Water though, I mean I am ordained after all," Mort asserted as though to point out that he wasn't completely useless.

"You're ordained, but that's not the _point. _You need actual _faith _in order to be of any use to us anyhow," She sighed.

"Woah, what kind of faith? Because if it's the whole bible-thumping, walking on water, communion every Sunday kind, I aint gonna be much use to you either unfortunately." Chuck interrupted, causing her to give him a whack on the arm with her notebook.

"Not _you! _That's what Mort would need, is faith in something…_anything_; in order to be of some kind of use, but he's running on E! Not that we need anyone else anyways, I was just trying to make a point of why he should stay here and leave the demon hunting to us. _You_ were a pretty powerful Voodoo practitioner when you were human and that kind of thing tends to leave traces of residual powers, not to mention you're blossoming skills as an Upir." She explained, shaking her head.

"Oh great. Can we not talk about my forays into Voodooism in front of our boss?" Chuck asked pointedly.

"Really? As if he hasn't found out anyways? Have you _tried _googling yourself lately?" Blue sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Course not, that's what he has you for." Mort answered, causing Chuck to roar with laughter.

Blue was apoplectic as she whacked them both around the head with her notebook this time.

"What has gotten into you guys today?! Especially _you!"_ She squeaked, rounding on Mort as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Nothing! Sheesh! I'll leave you guys to it then and I'll patrol with Carlos tonight. Lucky me; I know his wife will send food along." Mort sniffed, straightening his jacket with mock-dignity.

"Thanks, because I need time to think and gather the shit I need." She said with a shooing motion as he made his way towards the door.

Mort sighed and turned around to face her though at the last second.

"Just be careful, okay? And call…..if there is something I can do." He said seriously, giving her a hug and kissing the top of her head.

"Yeah, yeah. When it's 2:30 in the morning and we could use a Big Mac or a Slurpee, you are the first person I will ring." She teased, but she gazed up at her would-be father figure appreciatively anyhow.

After Mort's car disappeared from view, Blue returned to the kitchen.

"So, back to popcorn." She sighed softly, her eyes dancing with the light of adventure that Chuck was learning that he loved so much.

"Uh…..what? What about the Zamboni demon?" He asked nonplussed.

"That's been plaguing the Chicago Wolves and Blackhawks? _Dziwozona! _You can't fight something that you don't know the name of," Blue corrected him; Zamboni indeed…..

"Hey, cut a rookie some slack! I'm used to unleashing the big nasties, not putting them back." He reasoned with a shrug.

Blue fidgeted with the popcorn bag and laid it flat in the microwave, biting her bottom lip with unspoken worry as she punched in the time and flipped it on.

"Hey, don't worry. We got this," Chuck said softly as he read her unspoken concern.

Blue turned to look at him, hesitation on her face as she sighed once more and motioned for him to follow her down to the basement.

"Blood run?" He asked cluelessly; but she was leading him in the opposite direction towards an antique bookshelf half concealed in shadow.

With a wave of her hand, the bookshelf moved aside easily to reveal the concealed door to her sacred room.

Chuck saw the wards around the door glowing blue-green as though water were concealed beyond the threshold, but then he recalled Blue telling him that she was a Water Elemental when it came to magick.

"What is this place?" He asked her curiously, the light playing beneath the door beckoning to him in a way he couldn't describe.

Blue took a faltering breath as she reached out and caressed the door in a specific pattern before it opened soundlessly on its well-oiled aged hinges.

"This is where I keep my spell ingredients and stuff; my sacred space. It's protected by my wards, but I think that it should be 'trained' so to speak to read you as well. Come in," She invited, stepping over the threshold to allow him room enough to pass through.

He hesitated momentarily as the wards rippled after she passed through them, like the surface of a pond once it's disturbed, before he finally stepped through himself.

The surface of the wards crackled with an orange glow, the outline of what would have been his human form present there; etched in flames for a breath before they settled into the water.

The two elements balanced there, flame embracing water, water embracing flame.

Blue looked intrigued by the display before giving a mental shake and giving him a tour of the shelves and boxes therein.

"Anything that you could possibly need for any kind of magick is here, but this is the 'Get the fuck off my lawn box' that I keep packed and at the ready. We'll need it later," She explained,

The box was medium sized and carved from some kind of dark wood that retained an earthy, smokey kind of scent that he couldn't quite place.

"Everything that we need is in here?" Chuck asked curiously.

"Basically everything," She replied with a nervous laugh and a shrug.

"What the hell does that mean?" He queried suspiciously, making her sigh.

"We're going to need an ass-load of courage and fearlessness before this shit is all over. Demons tend to pray on our weaknesses, and they can read what we're really afraid of from miles off. Ever confronted your worst fears face to face?" She asked him uneasily.

Chuck thought for a moment.

What _was _he scared of? It had been an awfully long time before he had thought of being frightened.

Then it hit him all at once; Death.

When he had been alive, he had tried to escape death as much as possible.

Well, scratch that fear now. He couldn't really die as far as he knew, not to mention that he lived in a fucking cemetery.

If that wasn't looking death in the face every single day, he didn't know what the fuck was.

"Yeah, I'm good," He assured her without elaboration as he hefted the box, but she levitated it out of his hands easily.

"Save your back dude, I got this." Blue said with a wink, making her way towards the door when something glimmered on the top shelf and caught her eye.

"What's wrong? See a spider?" He quipped, causing her to nudge him out of her way before she took down what had caught her eye.

Chuck spied some kind of crystal amulet dangling from her hands on a leather cord, the stone itself surprisingly mimicking the look of their two elements (water and fire) in the wards in the doorway.

"This belonged to my father. Opal and Labradorite," She explained, the luminescent stone catching the light of unknown sources and throwing off shades of blue, orange, green, and yellow in turns.

"Why is it down here?" Chuck asked her, though he was almost certain he knew the reason why.

It was probably painful to see her Father's things…..

"I used to use it for grounding when I was honing my astral projection techniques. I almost forgot that it was here really," She replied before placing it over his head and adjusting the leather cord to fit a bit more snugly so that it wasn't dangling too low.

"What're you-

"Wear it for me," Blue interrupted firmly, a look in her eyes that was a mix of love and wistfulness.


	14. Chapter 14:Its Only As Real As You Think

**Chapter 14: It's Only As Real As You Think It Is**

After the demon-fighting box was set onto the coffee table for later, Blue retrieved their popcorn and smokes and hightailed it upstairs with Chuck following closely behind her as Netflix was put on and she plopped onto the bed, motioning for him to do the same.

He cracked the window to let the smoke out before he joined her as she found what she was looking for and began playing a particularly funny episode.

"Holy shit! This is way before your time, you're way too young to know about this or appreciate it." Chuck scoffed, shaking his head.

"Says who? I grew up watching British Comedies for your information," Blue huffed.

"You grew up watching _Fawlty Towers?_" He asked skeptically.

"Yup, one of my parents' favorites." She affirmed with pride.

"At least they had good taste then," He shrugged, laughing as Basil Fawlty whacked Manuel upside the head out of frustration again while mumbling under his breath about his lazy wife Cybil.

"I think I've seen all of these episodes a thousand times, but they're still flipping hilarious." Blue sighed, wanting Chuck to come and spoon against her, but not wanting to be one of _those _Chicks…..

Was it bad that she always wanted him near her now? Was she being too clingy? Was she overthinking this or not thinking enough….?

Chuck could hear her thoughts very loud and clear via their connection and he struggled to keep a straight face as she over-obsessed about doing something wrong or annoying.

He took his time stretching out on the bed before shifting closer to her and using her breasts and upper arm as a pillow.

Blue had tuned out the show completely now in her anxiety about what to do now? He had never openly complained about her touching him or pulling him closer to her, but was he just being _nice _or…..?

Chuck reached around behind him and pulled her arm over him as a silent signal for her to touch him how she wanted.

She hesitated for only a moment longer before she pulled him closer (if such a thing were even possible?) and ran her hand tentatively over his chest and abdomen, biting her lip as she inhaled his scent; a mixture of the pine spruce and cedar from his body wash and cologne, and something like warm leather and salt that was his own unique essence beneath it all.

Leather was a thought that she filed away for later as she wondered if she could find a biker jacket in his size…..

"Ya know, that's going to be kinda like lingerie. You're only gonna be buying it to rip it off a few minutes later," He said placidly as she continued to trail her hand down his side once more.

"I guess…" She sighed, before blanching white.

"Wait, what?!" She gasped, making him smirk as she shot out of the bed horrified.

"Hey, I was using those!" Chuck said indignantly as his comfy pillows left with her.

"Why- What would even possess you to do that?! Oh my God! What else do you know? How long were you listening?!" Blue asked, looking like she were going to die of embarrassment as her cheeks heated to a rosy color; the venom traveling to where it needed to do its work.

"I'm not intentionally listening…. Or at least I don't think I am, it's just that sometimes your thoughts are a little loud and I tune in somehow, I don't how this works really. I wasn't tuned in that long though, just a couple of minutes, I swear. Will you get back here? The bed's getting cold," He groused, wishing now that he hadn't teased her about it at all.

"Ugh, you're so impossible." Blue muttered, returning to bed slowly as the next episode began.

"Come here," He said, motioning for her to take up her previous position behind him; which she immediately did much to her own chagrin.

He entwined his fingers with her own before bringing her hand up to kiss lingeringly and softly, making her suffuse with a warmth that was distracting.

Blue kissed the back of his neck and nuzzled into the pillow, trying in vain to concentrate on the show, but her eyes were growing darker and darker as though a veil were being drawn over them.

"Chuck?" She asked softly, but her voice sounded miles away to her.

"_Ssssslllleeeeeeeeeep." _A sibilant hiss shushed her, and she sagged complacently against Chuck and the bed as they both slowly fell away and she found herself walking down the main road of the cemetery, shivering as the wind picked up; afternoon fading slightly into the hours leading to evening.

Why hadn't she brought a jacket?

Better yet, why wasn't she fucking _driving?_

Blue looked down at herself and searched her pants pockets; no keys, no phone, no cigarettes…

Her Father's lighter was there though.

Blue turned back in the direction of her house, but where the coach house normally stood, there was nothing but an empty space.

Even Bessie was nowhere to be found.

"Chuck?" She called cautiously, looking around for any sign that her Boyfriend may have joined her, but she doubted that he could have on his own.

She recognized an astral projection triggered by outward forces when she saw it.

She closed her eyes, focusing on her breathing in an attempt to center herself and locate her physical form, but a sudden burst of wind, the sound of squeaky wheels, and the familiar smell of exhaust interrupted her.

"Hey, need a ride?" A familiar voice asked from behind the wheel, but when she opened her eyes, she staggered back a moment before righting herself.

She couldn't show this thing weakness.

"No. I appear to have lost my house," She replied coolly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Aren't you happy to see me babe?" He asked, the steely blue eyes the only recognizable feature in the now human face of Charles Lee Ray.

"You aren't really Chuck, and I'm not you're 'babe'. God, of all the fucking people…." She groused irritably.

"It's you're fantasy," He smirked levelly, as her eyes narrowed.

"And where are you supposed to be taking me if I do get in?" Blue demanded, eying him mistrustfully.

"Nowhere in particular, I just wanna talk." It shrugged, giving a devastatingly handsome smile as she considered her options carefully.

It knew about Chuck obviously, but could it be in two places at once? Could it hurt him if she was occupying it's attention?

"And we need to be in a car for that?" She asked stiffly, still eying It and the vehicle suspiciously.

"No, we can be wherever you like. Do you prefer your home? The kitchen, the living room? The bedroom perhaps?" It asked her, the rooms in question appearing and disappearing around them in flashes, settling on the bedroom where _her Chuck _was still curled up beside her body cluelessly clutching her hand as he smirked at the episode of Fawlty Towers playing.

"Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like?" It whispered in her ear from behind, sending chills down her spine as she felt it puppet Chuck's long-gone human form; placing it's arms around her from behind and sucking sensually along her neck.

She would be a fucking liar if she said that she had never tried to imagine this. Blue had seen a shit ton of his photos from newspaper articles, arrest records, she had even gone so far as to look up college yearbooks once she had ascertained that he had gone to DePaul in Chicago.

She had been hard-pressed to admit to herself that he was fucking _gorgeous. _Sometimes Blue wondered if they had met when she was in college if she would have lost her virginity to him _much _earlier.

But this was not Chuck.

This was something else entirely.

_Her Chuck _was lying in bed with her, his wavy dark auburn hair messy and unruly from their cuddle session, his ice blue eyes lit up and dancing with mirth as he watched the old brit comedy show that they discovered they both loved.

He was settling into his new doll/human/upir form nicely, his features nearly completely human now; though he still had a bit of a ways to go.

This was the Chuck she had fallen for hopelessly and irretrievably.

The man-doll she had rescued that night in the rain who had stolen her heart with his sarcasm, humor, and hidden beneath all of that was a genuine streak of charm that had been impossible to miss or ignore. He was in so many ways so much like her, two peas in a pod; and she had been completely blindsided by him.

_She loved him._

Blue loved the Chuck who was three feet of snarky, sarcastic, funny, intelligent, and passionate bastard.

She loved when he challenged her, when he pushed her buttons in just the right way.

She loved the way that he kissed her, the way that he touched her, the way that he seemed to hold all of her broken pieces together (so fragile….)

He had made her _feel whole again_ for the first time since she had lost her Father.

Chuck made her feel _alive _again.

And this _thing _that was puppeteering his long-dead human form was not only NOT _her Chuck_, it's mere fucking presence was an insult to her abilities and her intelligence.

AND it was interrupting precious cuddle time with _her Mate._

It simply HAD to go….

"If my heart were ever going to beat again…then it would beat for you," She murmured softly, looking longingly at the Chuck spread out on the bed next to her; the very image and epitome of a perfect day…..

The thing behind her hissed as she heard its skin begin to crackle and fizz.

All that love could very well make it sick.

Or even kill it…..

"You _know _you want this….. you've no idea what I could give you; we could be so _powerful _together. It can all be yours; you could come to me tonight and I would stay in this form for you. We could have _everything… _" It's voice caressed coaxingly, puppeting Chuck's human form to continue its ministrations.

Blue wrenched out of its grip irritably, lashing out with her telekinesis to separate them and put as much distance between them as she could.

"I'll meet you in our physical forms later tonight. There's nothing that you have that I could possibly want," She gasped, clutching her Father's lighter as tightly as she could in her pocket.

Her grounder, her center in times of uncertainty and chaos….

Blue felt herself being wrenched back, as though a sort of vacuum vortex had opened itself behind her and before she knew what was happening, the human Chuck puppet was gone and she was sitting up in bed gasping, _her Chuck_ shooting up beside her with concern as the studio audience in _Fawlty Towers _laughed on cue once more; a carefree and unaware sound that made her want to wretch suddenly.

"What happened? What is it?" He asked, their eyes meeting over the beaten and worn lighter in her hand.

"I think I need a cigarette," She confessed distractedly.

He turned and snatched the pack off the nightstand along with the ashtray and handed them to her, shutting off the show with a click of the remote.

"What did you see? You're white as a fuckin sheet," Chuck informed her and she laughed softly, touching her forehead to his own.

"Charles," She sighed exasperatedly.

_What would I do without you?..._

"Ugh geeze. That bad huh?" He asked, his nose wrinkling in that adorable way that she loved; though he'd probably resort to physical violence if he knew she thought that something about him was _adorable…._

"What do you mean?" Blue asked distractedly, her brain still slightly foggy after the out of body experience.

"You called me _Charles; _you never do that unless there's something amiss here. Come on babe, I'm pretty perceptive." He replied (_especially when it comes to you….)_

She bit her bottom lip for a moment before leaning forward to kiss him slowly; pouring all of her love, worry, frustration, and passion into it so that when they pulled apart, they both took an unneeded breath.

"Please don't come with me tonight," She breathed, knowing that there was no way in hell that he was going to let her go alone.

"I thought we had this discussion earlier; I am not letting you do this by yourself. Especially in your current… _condition,_" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Blue snorted and rolled her eyes.

"My _condition? _Fuck my life, you make it sound like I'm fucking _knocked up _or something!" She groaned, flopping down on the pile of pillows behind her.

Chuck snickered and lay beside her, his chin coming to rest on her boob, which she was fast learning was the usual place for his head.

"Are they really that comfy?" She snarked monotonously.

"You have no idea," He sighed, nuzzling in and getting comfortable.

"Babe!" Blue exclaimed loudly half exasperated, half amused.

He gave her the characteristic smirk that she had learned that she loved, laving her breast through her shirt and bra, causing her to arch her back involuntarily and narrow her eyes at him at the same time; a warning to behave himself and give her time to think.

"What happened? Nightmare?" He asked her, his tone completely serious now as he studied her face.

"Something like that," She admitted, carding her fingers through his hair contemplatively.

"Do you always have to be so reticent?" He asked her, quirking a brow.

"Oh wow, big college word there." She laughed, drawing him up to kiss her once again, but to his credit he held back.

"Are you ever gonna let me in completely? Because I feel like every time I think that we're headed that way, you try to close up again. You're like a fuckin Venus flytrap sometimes, ya know?" Chuck asked as he searched her eyes again.

"Gosh that's romantic," Blue deadpanned, but then she smiled and sighed.

Chuck rolled his eyes and rolled off of her to sit up, grabbing the cigarettes that she had abandoned minutes ago. He lit one, pulling the smoke as deep into his lungs as he could and savoring the nicotine in an attempt to be patient and give her time to collect her thoughts.

"I think that whatever we're banishing tonight came for a visit, you know astrally? I traveled and had a brief meeting with it," She explained, trying to be as nonchalant as possible about the whole thing.

He stared at her wide-eyed while exhaling smoke and shaking his head.

"So you went and poked the bear because what? You were bored? Needed practice with out of body experiences? What the fuck Blue? This shit is dangerous!" He said in exasperation.

"I didn't do it on purpose! He just came for me when I fell asleep!" She huffed, sitting up and hunching over in her irritation.

"_He? _What, like Freddy Krueger? I thought you said that this thing was a Chic." Chuck said in quick succession, barely giving her a chance to answer.

"I told you that this thing knows _things _about us, we're like it's prey. It isn't going to play fair," Blue reminded him pointedly.

"Well we aren't going to exactly play fair either, are we?" Chuck asked her, a familiar glint in his eyes that was almost primal.

His Upir side that was instinctually hunter and survivor as well as the Alpha to her Beta.

Blue was very glad that it was just the two of them and they didn't have the need to exist in covens the way that their Vampire brethren did; she knew that Chuck wouldn't tolerate another male of any kind on a permanent basis.

"No, I don't plan to play fair. I _do _plan on being cautious and just getting rid of this as soon as possible; no showing off or prolonging anything, just a swift kick in the nuts and lights out." Blue replied.

At dusk, Blue levitated the box of exorcism supplies to the back seat of Bessie as Chuck locked up their house, glaring at a small gaggle of geese gathering near the side of the front stoop.

"Get the fuck outta here you little shits," He growled, shooting a few stray flames their way for practice and snickering when they flapped their wings and honked in fear and surprise.

Blue chuckled at his antics and shook her head. A few sections over, she caught sight of Carlos and his landscape crew working; racing against the clock to finish the last of their mowing for the day while the dying rays of the sun sank lower in the sky.

Inwardly Blue was hoping that this wouldn't take long…..

Chuck buckled himself in and they were off, waving as they passed the industrial mower and the small group around it with their blowers, rakes, and collection bags.

Carlos tipped his hat respectfully and the other men nodded and smiled as they drove by, making him wonder once again if they could actually see him or if Blue was again protecting him with a glamour.

"So, Starbucks is on our way to George's; so you must know that that is the excuse that I'm using to stop there." She announced with a wink and a smirk.

Chuck frowned at her.

"Is that a restaurant or something?" He asked cluelessly and she mentally face-palmed again.

Of course he wasn't in the loop with the coffee giant.

"It's a coffee shop with like, really amazing, step on your nuts to wake you up coffee." She explained, flicking her turn signal on as she pulled out of the main entrance and flicking it off again as they continued down the road in the opposite direction of what they usually took.

"It sounds kinda familiar I guess, like a yuppy joint right?" He asked her, making her sigh and grip the steering wheel tighter than was strictly necessary.

"Yeah kinda, but they have really good, really strong coffee. Sure, maybe you have to wade through a crowd of hipsters, college students, and midlife crisis' to get it, but I swear its _so _worth it," Blue said wryly.

"Apparently they have a drive-thru now," He said, pointing to a sign that proclaimed so with an actual mile marker stating that it was half a mile ahead.

"Well that'll lessen the need to wade," She quipped, rolling down her window to let some air in the car as she lit a cig and enjoyed the wind as it played through her hair.

Her full lips pursed around the opaque smoke distracted Chuck more than he would ever care to admit, and a part of him wished that they weren't heading off to banish a demon.

Blue pulled into the drive-thru and paused as she stopped in front of the menu.

"What the Hell? Is _all _of that coffee?" He asked, not even comprehending half of the menu as she snorted beside him.

"Lemme just order for you okay? I don't want this to be too traumatic," She teased.

"Well Jesus Fuck, what the hell is a Venti dulche de leche latte? Or Juniper coffee? Are we here for something to drink or a _fucking tree?!" _He hissed quietly as the speaker crackled and a very '_English Literature is my major and Philosophy is my minor and Indies music is Life' _voice asked them what she could get started for them.

For the love of heavy metal and all things that were sharp, he was gonna scream.

"Yeah, can I get two double Americana's with an extra shot of espresso in both and extra hot please," Blue ordered, laughing silently when he looked at her like she were speaking a foreign language again.

"Gotcha, and are you using your rewards card today? We're doing a bogo right now for happy hour." The Barista asked.

"Yep, thanks!" Blue replied, pulling up the app on her phone and enjoying the look of sheer exasperation and disbelief on her boyfriends face as she handed the device over to the young girl at the window and she scanned it to bring up her account.

"Okay, that'll be $12.95, are you paying with the app as well today?" She asked, to which Blue nodded nonchalantly and the barista scanned her phone screen again and handed out their drinks, easy-peasy.

She handed his drink off to him as she pulled off with a contented sigh and he just shook his head.

"So, lemme get this straight, these fuckin phones have coffee capabilities too?" He asked, causing Blue to bark with laughter.

"It's an app! You know, like the Netflix thing that I was talking about?" She replied.

"Oh sure, share the movie thing but keep the coffee to yourself. I see how this goes," He groused.

"Dude, there's an app for _everything." _She assured him with a smirk.

"Impossible." Chuck said firmly, with perhaps a hint of challenge in his voice as he took a sip of his latte and his eyes bugged.

"Really?" She asked cheekily as they stopped at a light and she typed something into her Google Play search bar and handed him her phone, laughing when he nearly choked.

"That's fuckin sick!" He exclaimed, snickering.

"I won't say I told you so," She giggled as the light changed and she flicked on her headlights as the last rays of the dying sun dropped below the horizon.

Blue frowned as they continued down the road and the scenery and trees seemed very familiar.

"Blue," Chuck said suddenly, pointing to the sign at the side of the road.

_**Starbuck's Drive-Thru now open! ½ mile ahead!**_

"Okay. Just don't panic," She assured him, driving on with determination.

"I'm good," He shrugged, nevertheless keeping his eyes peeled.

They drove on and she pulled into the drive-thru, ordering the same thing for them both, having the same conversation with the barista as last time, but sighing in relief when she reached the window.

"Back again so soon?" The girl asked cheerily as she charged her and handed out their drinks.

"What can I say? Long evening ahead," Blue replied with a smile, driving off a bit more relaxed than when they had driven in.

"Not that I'm bitching because this is the best cup of joe I've ever had, but what was that about?" He asked uncertainly, looking as though he had won a small time lottery now that he had coffee in each hand.

"I wanted to see if we were stuck in a time loop or something a lot less serious." She replied, stopping at the same light as she had before.

"I'm guessing it's the less serious variety we find ourselves in right now?" He asked curiously.

"Yep," She agreed, pulling over when she spotted the same Starbuck's sign ahead.

"So what now?" He asked with a frown as she pulled out a balloon and a bottle of Holy Water from her center console.

"Now? We get a little wet," Blue said with a wink as she made a Holy Water balloon and knotted it tightly before pulling back onto the road.

"I'm down with that," Chuck agreed with a smirk.

"I figured you would be," She said, rolling her window all the way down and lobbing the red little missile as far out in front of the car as she could, watching for the moment of impact before simultaneously gunning it as their surroundings rippled.

"Toss the second coffee you got," She said with a squeak as her own second cup started smoking and hissing slightly.

They each tossed their second cups out the windows, hearing a grumbling growl of frustration for their troubles when they did so.

"Sounds like she's pissed," He said jovially as the rumbling growl seemed to keep pace with the car as they drove.

"Yeah, but that shit was nothing. We've just been annoying her slightly; she isn't used to people who don't get scared and run at the first sight of her parlor tricks." Blue warned him.

They appeared to be back on the right track as she recognized the beginnings of the quiet little gated community that George's home was situated in.

"Now this is fuckin terrifying," Chuck shuddered at the sound of children squealing with laughter at the local park as they drove passed it; the perfect picture of suburbia.

"Agreed," She laughed, turning down the next street of lavish homes and multi-car garages.

The people on this street were a bit different than the others they had passed, where the people at the park had been walking, jogging, picnicking, and watching their children play; these people seemed to be frozen in almost painful smiles as they moved about in nearly slow motion.

One elderly man seemed to be mowing the same patch of lawn, while his neighbor stood in his driveway watering the asphalt while standing stock-still, a vague expression of painful mirth on his face.

Blue stopped to let a scruffy dog pass with a rope toy in his mouth and a lost look on his face as he seemed to search for his master.

She finally pulled into George's driveway and paused, taking a deep breath before unstrapping her seatbelt and getting out to get their supplies from the back.

Chuck followed suit, keeping an eye on all of George's creepy fucking neighbors as they milled about in slow motion.

"This is normal for this type of demonic activity," She informed him as she levitated the box to the door, and he followed her up the steps.

"You sure? Looks like the typical retirement community to me," He quipped.

"Okay look, when we get in here we could really be facing anything at this point. Dziwozona is always going to prey on your fears though, so be prepared for that. She'll get desperate if she feels like she's in danger and she'll grasp at anything that she thinks might be able to help her, even things that you might have forgotten about, she can find and use. Just try to keep it cool and remind yourself that it isn't real." Blue advised, kicking the box open and taking out various supplies along with a small satchel bag.

"Holy Water; doesn't work like it did in the Exorcist, okay? For Dziwozona, it's good for revealing the truth, like what I did with the water balloon. Black salt, sage, human tears of sadness, graveyard dirt, Florida water, widow's hair, and last but not least, what you need to use if you get close enough to kill it." She held up a long dagger that was lodged in a clear crystal scabbard, which appeared to seal in the unique ingredients that was deadly to it.

"Dagger dipped in a mixture of lambs blood, wood shavings from a sacred crucifix, frankincense resin, and your venom?" He asked knowingly.

"So you did some research?" She asked, impressed.

"Yeah, I'm more than my good looks." He said wryly as he slung the satchel over his shoulder crossbody style.

"Good to know," She murmured as she tried the doorknob and the door swung open easily to reveal an average-looking hallway, living room, and a staircase that lead to the upper floor.

Blue motioned for him to follow her into the living room, where she cleared the furniture and area rug away from the pristine wooden floor and began to build a circle of protection.

Once she was done, she turned to him and bit her bottom lip anxiously.

"She's in the guest bedroom, which is the bedroom all the way at the end of the hall. Third door at your right," She said, motioning towards the stairs.

"_She's going to separate us." _Blue explained telepathically via their link the best way she could; and though her voice was echoing with a bit of static as though it were coming from a badly tuned radio, he heard her.

Chuck looked panicked at the thought of her facing this bitch of a thing alone, but she quickly put her finger to her lips and shook her head.

"_Not part of the deal Babe," _He sent out quickly, but she responded with a wink and stepped out of the circle, disappearing from view completely.

"Shit," He hissed, making his own way out of the circle and stumbling slightly as his surroundings automatically changed and he looked around to find himself in the childhood home that he barely remembered.

"I hope you got better than this up your sleeve," He scoffed, rolling his eyes and straightening his shoulders as he made his way slowly up the steps.

He didn't have any memories of his childhood, bad or otherwise. He could kind of remember his mother if he tried; a pale woman with light brown hair and green eyes who was always tired because she worked all the time…

There was a loud thud and the sound of glass shattering from a room on the floor above and he made his way the rest of the way up the stairs quickly, wondering if he would run into the fuckin Zamboni demon (he'd call it whatever he liked, or whatever he could easily pronounce…) or if he would run into Blue somehow.

As he made his way down the hall quietly, the surroundings became more familiar in his mind. He recalled this dingy wallpaper, the threadbare brown carpeting at his feet, the stale smells of cigarette smoke and cheap liquor.

The first room to his right would be the bathroom he recalled; with it's off-white paint and porcelain and the light on the fuckin pull chain that he would never be able to reach.

He had always hated going to the bathroom at night in the dark when he was small.

As if on cue, the day became night around him and he was plunged into semi-darkness, the windows the only source of light from the grubby street below.

"Fuck you," He muttered irritably as the thing seemed to read his thoughts effortlessly.

He wasn't afraid of the dark _now…._

But there was something that was irritating him about the scenario; something that didn't quite feel right to him, almost as though he had just remembered that he left the stove on at home or something. Some unnamable _thing _that was niggling the back of his mind and making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

He bypassed the next room slowly, taking a glance inside to see a few scattered toys on the floor and a small twin-size bed and a very well-loved blue blanket.

He finally came to the room at the end of the hall and he felt his chest tighten and a chill make the hair on his arms stand.

"You fuckin bitch! Where is it? Where's the fuckin money?!" A voice growled and the sound of a slap sounded, more glass shattering.

_That voice…_

"Charles _please," _His Mother stumbled into view, holding her face and trying in vain to make her way towards the door.

_Charles?..._

"You're fuckin useless! Why the fuck did I marry you? We can't even keep beer in this fuckin shithole you call a house!" His Father staggered into view then, drunk as a skunk and mean as a viper.

He towered over Amelia Ray easily, knocking her to the ground as though she were a china doll.

"Leave her alone!" He growled, but his voice was so much smaller suddenly.

"What the fuck did you say to me Boy?" He whipped around and lashed out, but Chuck had been anticipating the blind swing, so he stepped out of the way easily.

"I said to leave her the fuck alone," Chuck repeated, charging forward without putting much thought into it.

"No! Charles, leave him alone!" His Mother cried, but the next hit _did _connect; sweeping him off of his feet until he came crashing back to the floor, seeing stars.

"Looks like I need to teach _both _of you some manners tonight." Charles Sr. grabbed his Son by the shirt front and slammed his back into the wall, knocking the air out of him as his feet dangled off the ground. Chuck met his Father's eyes then; cold steel-blue and unfeeling like a reptile, black hair falling in greasy waves to frame his cruel pale face.

_I wonder if that's what I look like? When I kill…._

That was when he caught his reflection in the dresser mirror behind his Father and froze.

He was a _child _again.

Just four years old and helpless.

His Father was a _Giant _compared to him.

Chuck's cheek seared with pain as he was struck again, blood gushing from his nose and mouth.

_Good thing those were baby teeth that night….._

"Charles, let him go!" His Mother raked her long nails down the side of his Father's face, drawing blood and he sagged to the floor in a heap when he was released; trying to catch his breath and blink the blood spatter out of his eyes.

Chuck scrambled forward and made it to his feet, turning to beat his small fists against his Father's back as he wrapped his large hands around his Mother's throat.

But he may as well have been hitting him with a pillow for all the good it was doing; his Mother's face was turning red and her eyes were wide and watering as she clawed helplessly at her Husband's forearms.

_He was strangling her…._

_His Father was strangling his Mother to death….._

"Stop! Stop it!" He screamed, rushing forward to pull at his Fathers hair, his shirt, anything to get him to release her, but he wouldn't budge.

His Mother's eyes, wide and pleading, suddenly meeting his own as she thrashed and struggled, her arms flailing in panic now.

_The gun. _

_The nightstand on the right, top drawer, get the gun._

Chuck was in front of the nightstand with the gun in his hand before he knew it.

_There had been robberies in the neighborhood and Dad kept it loaded._

He turned just as her face was purpling with the lack of oxygen and fired and his Father sagged forward.

_Why is her face even redder now?..._

That's when she started screaming.

"Mom! Mom, it's okay. He's not gonna hurt you anymore! He's-

"Get away from me! Oh God! Oh God, _get away from me!"_ She choked and sobbed, scrambling backwards until she hit the wall, the red pool spreading and spreading until she was sliding in it in her effort to run for the phone.

"Mom-"

"You're an _animal! You're just like him!" _She cried, her feet finally finding purchase on the bald carpeting below.

"Chuck!? Chuck! Come on! Snap out of it! Chuck!" Blue slapped him hard across the face and he gasped, nearly falling face first into the dashboard of Bessie.

"What the fuck?!" He choked, raking his hands through his hair shakily.

"What happened? Where did you go?!" She asked, looking the most frightened he had ever seen her.

"_Me?! _You fuckin disappeared right when you left the circle! I was upstairs-

"Upstairs where?" She interrupted, eyes wide and disbelieving.

"In the fuckin _house! _We both went in, you made the circle, then you said it was going to separate us and you disappeared-

"So, we _were _in the house already? Are you sure?" She asked, looking around the car and then in the back seat.

"Yeah! See? The fuckin box is gone!" He pointed to the back seat where it had been when they arrived.

"Okay, you're right, it is." Blue agreed, opening the car door slowly and stepping out.

"Where are you going?" He asked, leaping out after her and slamming the passenger door shut.

"Chill out, I'm just gonna look through the window." She replied, stepping over the flowerbed and peeking in only to stumble backward a moment later.

"What? What did you see?" He asked, catching her arm before she caught her heel in the tulip bulbs.

Blue took a deep breath and shook her head, taking one more glance through the window before ducking down and shushing him.

"What the fuck is going on?!" He demanded before she clapped her hand over his mouth.

"We're still in the house," She whispered.


	15. Chapter 15: Battle

**Chapter 15**

Blue tugged on his sleeve, nodding in the direction of the car before transporting them back into it.

"Okay, at least now I know that both of us are real." She sighed, gripping the steering wheel in both hands in an effort to get her thoughts in order.

"Great, so now all you have to do is turn the key in the ignition and get us the fuck outta here! I can't believe that at this point in my life, the cemetery is the less terrifying of my options." He hissed, keeping an eye on the door of George's house.

"We can't just leave this goddamn thing here! The entire block is fucked!" She exclaimed, gesturing to the people roaming the street in slow-mo.

Chuck was looking at her as though she were insane.

"Who gives a rats ass?! You think these people would give a fuck about people like us? When we were alive or now that we're Upirs, they wouldn't give us a second glance, wouldn't piss on us if we were on fire!" He growled irritably, searching around the console for their cigs.

"I'm not doing it for them! I'm doing it for George and his family and I'm doing it for _us _too; because now that this fucker has had a taste of us, it's not going to let up until we fucking kill it and send it back to Hell where it belongs. Here," Blue slowed his frantic searching with a gentle hand and gave him the pack of cigarettes along with her Father's old lighter.

Chuck shook two out and handed her one while lighting his own and then hers before clicking the battered zippo shut and giving it back to her. He leaned back against the seat and carded his fingers through his hair, biting back the need to stab or punch something.

"Chuck, if you need to just wait here for me you can. The car _is _safe," She assured him, zero judgement in her violet eyes as she offered him an out.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm not staying here like a little _bitch _while you go in there and have all the fun without me. Quit trying to be a demon hog, Blue." He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

The bluenette laughed shakily and shook her head.

"What kind of demon are we fighting again?" She asked, feigning forgetfulness.

"A Zamboni Demon," He replied automatically with mock seriousness as she chuckled.

"Exactly. Zamboni Demon; eater of ice and enemy of Hockey players and Figure Skaters throughout the world." She laughed and took a deep breath, her hands coming to grip the steering wheel again as though she were preparing to drive over a steep precipice.

"Right, we got this." He snorted; the entire situation suddenly less serious than it had been when he had been at the Thing's mercy moments before.

Blue took another deep breath, reaching over and pulling him into a kiss, giving herself over to what she'd rather be doing right then if she weren't getting ready to have a second go at a fear-mongering demonic force to be reckoned with.

They broke apart slowly, his teeth giving her full bottom lip several tiny nips before he settled back into his seat.

"What were we doing again?" He quipped, making her giggle.

"Zamboni demon," Blue reminded him, wishing that they were just patrolling the cemetery like they would have been on any other given night.

Chuck adjusted the satchel bag across his chest as they exited the car and she led him to Bessie's trunk.

"I have an idea, just don't laugh." She said, popping the trunk and yanking out a gallon of Holy Water.

"I'm going to have a look in George's garage and hope that he keeps cleaning supplies in there. I need spray bottles," She explained as she slammed the trunk shut and began sifting through her pockets until she found her Father's lighter again.

"I'm coming with you-

"No! Listen, I'm going in there, but I might get stuck if It notices me and I'm sure it will. Give me five minutes, and if I don't come out by then, light this and I'll find my way out. Okay?" Blue asked, handing over the lighter almost reluctantly.

She was almost never without it.

"I don't like this Babe," Chuck said uncertainly as he took it from her, an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Gimme your phone," She said, setting the timer and handing it back to him.

"Five minutes." He said firmly, thinking that he'd really rather only give her three.

Blue nodded and slung her own bag back across her chest, settling the weight of it on her hip and turning back towards the house resolutely.

The Chuck and Blue that she had seen in the house earlier were looking out the window now, staring vaguely at the lawn.

"What about them?" He asked.

"They're not real, just an illusion to try and get under our skin. They're another extension of Zamboni, like all the other illusions that we'll see. Always try to remember that," She advised, making her way to the side door of the garage and trying the knob, which swung open easily at her touch.

They both peered in from the doorway, but of course from that vantage point everything looked like a normal garage.

George's tool chest and work bench were lined neatly along the wall with a smattering of wrenches, hammers, and saws hung above them on a pegboard. Blue spied a jumble of bikes and a few half-inflated soccer and basketballs in the corner, and along the back wall; steel shelving lined with cleaning supplies.

Blue whipped around so fast that Chuck nearly collided with her.

"Do not follow me in here. I need you outside," She said, taking a breath before she stepped over the threshold and turned back to look for him; only to realize he was gone.

"Neat tricks asshole," She muttered under her breath, stepping over an oil spot on the floor and towards the back of the garage.

George had quite an assortment of car cleaning supplies and odds and ends like windshield wiper fluid, WD-40, and an assortment of polishing rags on the shelf that was eye level to her.

On the bottom shelf was where Blue got lucky, finding an assortment of spray bottles amidst the watering cans, miracle grow, plant food and fertilizers.

She snatched the two largest spray bottles she saw and whipped around, ready to sprint for the door and freedom when she halted in her tracks.

Her surroundings had changed.

She immediately took a deep breath to steady herself and take stock of where she was. Turning back to where the shelves had been there was now just a smooth tan cement wall, and in front of her there was unfinished cement flooring, pipes along the walls and above her, and a boiler…..

"Ohhhhh kay." Blue breathed slowly, moving forward in the semi-darkness. Behind the boiler, there were cement steps leading upwards to a door; a door that seemed very far away.

She knew where she was.

She had seen this room in her nightmares often enough.

_It's not real…_

She hesitated a moment longer before bolting towards the door, her Upir speed kicking in with her instincts for self-preservation, but her legs felt like they were suddenly stuck in sludge as she was thrown back against the cement wall with enough force to rattle her skull.

Blue blinked and shook her head, sliding down the very solid wall behind her with a sudden weakness that confused her.

"_Love is your weakness. Why do you cling to this moment?" _It asked, seemingly from both inside her head as well as within the room itself.

"I don't," She argued, rising to her wobbly feet in an effort to regain a handle on the situation.

"_Everything that you did lead you here. You left him drunk and miserable and dying; what did you think would happen?" _The voice intruded again, and she clapped her hands over her ears, her eyes squeezing shut and willing the garage to become the fucking garage again.

_Why was she being so stupid? She was literally feeding this thing, giving it exactly what it wanted while Chuck was waiting for her just on the other side of the door. They could kill this thing and go home._

Then a sterile and all too familiar smell reached her nostrils and she shrank against the wall and squeezed her eyes shut tighter, taking unnecessary breaths, which only caused the smell to grow stronger….

Then there was the incessant _beep-beep, beep-beep, beep-beep _of the heart monitor and the _wheezing. _The impossible, skin-crawling, gut-wrenching death rattle breathing of the barely alive….

_No, no, no. It hurts. Just the sound fucking hurts!_

"It's not real," She gasped out shakily, desperate for oxygen she hadn't needed in longer than she could remember.

"_This is real. You made it real….this is what you caused….." _The accusatory hiss was louder now, her emotions nearly making it corporeal as she struggled to clear her mind.

"Stop feeding it. Stop fucking feeding it," Blue instructed herself sternly.

_Get a fucking grip Rainieri…_

All she needed to do was get to the door…..

Another familiar sound met her ears then; the rustling of overly stiff sheets and the creak of an overused hospital bed as someone shifted within it.

_Don't look at it. DontlookDontlookDontlookDont-_

"Blue!" Chuck called his voice as clear as if he were standing beside her.

And then she saw it.

_Light._

It was the small flame from her Father's lighter at first, a tiny beacon in the distance and the dark; the cement room and the sounds and smells of the hospital gone as suddenly as they had come.

Then the flames were brighter, the body of the fire itself growing larger and gathering momentum until she could see him in the distance; concentration wrinkling his brow as he wielded the growing blaze.

Before she knew what was happening, she was back outside of the garage, a huddled mass at his feet with the spray bottles clutched in her hand.

"Blue! Jesus, are you okay?" He asked, kneeling beside her with concern as she took another quivering breath, sucking in as much of the night air as she possibly could.

"Oh yeah, just peachy." She gasped, picking stray blades of grass from her hair as she rose to her feet shakily.

"What happened? What'd you see?" He asked, realizing belatedly that he had just asked her a pretty personal question.

"Barbies in pink tutu's. It was horrifying," She replied with an effective shudder, making him roll his eyes and scoff.

"You could've just told me to mind my fuckin business," He sighed as she unscrewed the bottles and began carefully filling them both with Holy Water from the gallon jug she had pulled from Bessie's trunk.

"Mind your fuckin business," Blue sniffed, not meeting his eyes.

"It was you having sex with the UPS guy wasn't it?" He asked, earning a sharp punch on the arm.

"That's fucking sick!" She exclaimed, wrinkling her nose distastefully while he snickered.

But then Chuck staggered slightly as he caught a wave of emotions from her and flashes of what _had _to be her Father in the burn ward.

To her credit, if she noticed a significant and sudden change in his demeanor, she didn't press the issue.

"Okay, so we go in and keep misting our way through with these until we're able to face it and kill it and get the fuck outta dodge," She said, handing a spray bottle over to him.

"We need to try to stay together this time. Any thoughts?" Chuck asked, taking the bottle from her.

Blue chewed her lip and looked towards the house, lost in thought for a moment.

"Wait….. you have other stones in that bag of yours, right?" He asked, touching on his knowledge of hoodoo.

"Yeah, some quartz, opal, obsidian. Why?" She asked, pulling out the velveteen bag where she kept them.

"This amulet of your Dad's is opal and labradorite right? If I remember right, like stones can be linked to one another? I know that opal only really gets along with itself as it is." He said contemplatively, wishing that he had some of his old notes in front of him.

"Yeah, you're right. Shit, I can't believe I forgot about that," She replied, shaking the opal out into her palm as he held out the amulet and touched it briefly to the chunk of fire opal she held in her hand. The two stones glowed ethereally for a moment as the elements recognized each other, forming a viable connection for the practitioners that held them.

"Between our bond and the opals, we should be able to maintain contact. Keep this on you somewhere too, it'll annoy the fuck out of it." Blue said, handing him a Rosary with blackened beads and a charred chain and putting her pouch away.

"Jesus. This thing been in hell already?" He asked as he took the beads from her reluctantly.

Blue snorted in response.

"Not sure how to answer that. It was supposedly blessed in Vatican City, and it was recovered from the office of a priest I rescued a few years back. Past that Starbucks a bit is an old rectory and it caught fire, firemen said there was one priest left inside and they couldn't get him out, so I tried my hand. Singed a good five inches of hair and had to toss the entire outfit I was wearing, not to mention that my coffee had gone cold by the time I got back in my car. When he was released from the hospital, he gave me these, other than the marble statuary, these were the only things that didn't burn." She explained as they made their way back over to the house.

"Wait, we can go into churches too?" He asked curiously, making her chuckle.

"Dude, don't get caught up in the Brom Stoker of things." She said, misting him lightly with the Holy Water to further her point.

"Fuck, that shit's cold!" He cussed as a few stray droplets slid down his neck.

"Yeah, it was in my damned trunk. But are you burning? Skin peeling away?" Blue asked, quirking a brow.

"No, obviously not. I just thought… I don't know. I wasn't exactly Mr. Rogers _before _I vamped out-

"Upir. You _Upired out._ Just because we have some similarities with Vampires doesn't make us one in the same," She reminded him as they halted in front of the door.

"I just want you to know before we go any further, that this is _by far _the worst date I've ever been on." He sighed in mock-disappointment.

"Dude, we're mated already. I don't have to woo you anymore, sampled the milk, bought the cow." She deadpanned, but he could see the corners of her full lips turned up into a small smile in the dark.

"_Speaking _of being milked…." He trailed off suggestively.

"_Besides,"_ She cut in pointedly, "You should really be thanking me, I imagine you could be holed up in some broken down trailer helping blondie-bear touch up her roots."

Chuck wrinkled his nose and shuddered at the thought.

"The fuck? Isn't this fuckin Zamboni bitch scary enough without you spouting off creepy shit like that?" He asked, shoving the door open and going in ahead of her, misting Holy Water as he went.

"Just trying to lighten the mood a little," She shrugged with a smirk.

"Yeah, that was like dropping a piano on it!" He snickered, flipping off the fake Chuck and Blue that came forward from the living room slowly to stand at the foot of the stairs and watch them with vacant eyes.

"Piss off," Blue hissed, misting them with the water bottle and causing them to vanish with the fine stream of the spray.

"What a waste," He sighed as they ascended the steps slowly.

"What?" She asked, squeezing the fire opal tightly in one hand as she clutched the spray bottle in the other.

"Should've asked the fake Blue for a threesome before we ditched her," He teased, nimbly dodging a jab in the ribs that he easily anticipated when he read her thoughts.

"Perv," Blue griped.

"And you love it," He muttered as they reached the top landing and he motioned for her to stay behind him as they moved slowly down the hall towards the guest room.

Blue felt awkward as she fell in step behind him, she wasn't used to anyone protecting _her. _She was so accustomed to doing all of the protecting….

"Ready?" He whispered, hand on the doorknob as he looked back at her over his shoulder for confirmation.

She nodded with a wink, trying her best to exude as much confidence as possible.

A lot of this operation was fly by the seat of their pants.

Chuck swung the door open and a lot of things happened at once; Zamboni roared, skittering across the floor towards them on its many-tentacled legs, long swamp-grass hair dripping muck on the floor as it went. Turning towards Chuck it morphed into what appeared to be a rotting corpse-like version of his old human form, turning towards Blue it morphed again into a spider the size of a Buick.

"What the hell did you give it more legs for?" Chuck hissed, each of them misting with the water bottles as fast as they could in an attempt to force it back into its real form.

The Zamboni spider skittered sideways into the bedposts, knocking the furniture into the wall and splintering it like kindling in its attempt to get away from the Holy Water.

"And fighting Serial Killer you would be easier _how?" _She asked breathlessly as the thing lunged at them, lashing out with its spindly legs and sharp pincers.

"What the fuck? Are you afraid of spiders too?" She asked incredulously as they dodged another swipe from it, narrowly avoiding getting crushed by an ornate light fixture that came crashing down in a shower of glass and wire.

"When they're the fuckin size of a minibus I am!" He panted, one hand digging in his bag in search of the widow's hair within.

"Here!" Blue tossed him a skein of it while she launched a strand of her own, catching one of the spiders legs and pulling both physically and telekinetically.

Chuck launched his own strand from the opposite side, managing to lasso one of the massive spiders pedipalps as Zamboni shrieked in anger; jerking and twisting in their grips.

He grit his teeth as he tried to set his feet apart and hold on while Blue managed to get a few good mists in with her bottle and the spider-morph flickered, beginning to reveal the demons true form within.

The thing thrashed again, some inner instinct telling it that it needed to fight with all it had as Blue's telekinesis gained purchase by another few feet and it changed tactics, launching an object at Chuck's feet.

In retrospect, he knew what it would be before he even took his eyes off of Zamboni to glance down at it.

_The Heart Of Damballa amulet….._

In the moment that he took his focus off of it, it was able to break the strand restraining it from Chuck's angle and gain moment to round on Blue, smashing her into a full-length antique mirror and rendering her immobile for a moment as she lost control of the strand she had been gripping tightly as well.

It finally skittered free and morphed again, facing Chuck down in the form of some tall shadowy figure that Blue couldn't even name in her haze of pain.

She shifted to her knees slowly and braced herself for the pain she knew that standing would bring her and she wanted to vomit, taking a deep breath to stave off the urge.

"_Take the amulet…. You can be human again with the heart…..Only with the heart…" _Zamboni urged him as he scrambled to his feet and swung a new strand, cursing when he missed, and the shadow loomed closer.

"It's not true. Chuck, even if it were real and you had it, you can't ever be human again. You know that," Blue gasped out as she slowly felt around her side and winced when she felt a large chunk of glass from the mirror pinning her jacket to her body and narrowly missing puncturing a lung.

Chuck hesitated for a moment as Zamboni got into his head, filling his thoughts with fantasies of what it would be like to hold her as a man again….

"_You can't protect her like this….. how can you truly be her mate? Her equal? Look at you…. So small….helpless realllllllllllyyy." _Zamboni slithered forward slowly, looming larger until he became almost mesmerized by this shadow-being, but he shook himself at the thought of Blue.

_You can't protect her like this…_

Chuck crammed his hand back into the satchel that was miraculously still strapped across his chest and pulled out the jar of graveyard dirt she had given him earlier, smirking as he lobbed it at the Zamboni's feet and it shattered, trapping the thing in its place.

The Zamboni roared and shrieked as it twisted and flailed and Blue made it back to her feet, dousing it in Holy Water from her bag to keep it from morphing forms.

"_Are you okay?" _Chuck asked her via their link, but he wouldn't meet her eyes from across the room.

"_Fine,"_ She thought back, but she could barely focus.

Her venom was sluggish in her veins and she knew that it wasn't going to heal her the way that it normally did.

Blue staggered forward and unscrewed the nozzle from her spray bottle, calling the element forth from the bottle and willing it to wend its way around the demon, effectively creating a thin Holy Water vortex-like shield to bind it in place.

Chuck scrambled across the floor quickly towards the closet, rummaging through stacks of towels, sheets, and clothes to reach the suitcase in the back.

The board itself was so faded and worn that he could barely make out the letters, numbers, and symbols in the dark; but as the planchette surfaced from the jumble of books and spare clothes within to connect almost magnetically to its dull surface in the dark, he knew that he had found what he needed.

He dumped the contents of the satchel on the floor and snatched the dagger up from the jumbled contents that rolled out haphazardly onto the carpet.

"_I've got the board, on three to kill it?" _He asked her telepathically, shifting around anxiously to meet her eyes when he felt how weak she was.

"_On three," _She agreed, the connection waning with her strength.

"_One…two…three!"_ Chuck counted down, slamming the dagger through the planchette and board as Blue thrust her own dagger into its heart.

A deafening roar filled the room as they were both thrown from their feet, the demons final backlash before being sucked into a swirling vortex and returning to Hell from whence it came; the board and planchette disappearing along with it.

It took several minutes for Chuck to come to; a nice Chuck-shaped imprint in the drywall a testimony to the force with which he had been thrown as he staggered to his feet, his eyes searching frantically for Blue.

The forces of Hell had been no kinder to her as she lay curled in a fetal position in a half-congealed puddle of blood and sluggish Upir venom, the silvery substance slithering back into her wounds slowly.

"Blue!" He half crawled, half ran, half tripped to her side as fast as he could; his own faculties trying to regain their equilibrium as he forced his body into gear faster than it wanted him to.

She was completely still and cold as ice when he reached her, unresponsive no matter how many times he called her name or tried to shout at her across their telepathic link.

His hands shook as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and skimmed to his contacts impatiently, everything feeling as though it were working much too slowly for him as he dialed Mort.

To the Undertakers credit, he answered on the first ring.

"What happened?" He answered, as though he had been staring at his phone and waiting for it to ring all night.

"I need help, she's not conscious and her….. the venom is acting weird. She's cold," He gulped, trying to keep unfamiliar raw emotions in check as he yanked the comforter one-handedly from the ruined bed and covered her with it, holding the phone in the crook of his neck.

"Alright, be there in five. I'm close by," Mort said, hanging up and pulling out of the Starbuck's parking lot that he had been parked in for the past five hours in preparation for something like this.

Just in case…..

Chuck kept trying to reach her through their link, but it felt hollow, like the old days when you were using a pay phone and your call got disconnected…..

"Come on babe," He murmured, brushing stray strands of hair from her face with a shaking hand.

_So, this is what it feels like to give a fuck….._

He looked around for one of the seemingly millions of shards of glass littering the floor before selecting a particularly large one and slicing his arm; holding the wound to her mouth and massaging her throat to encourage the blood to go down, hoping that his blood would help her….

Something _had to._


	16. Chapter 16: Healing

**Chapter 16: Healing**

Mort took the steps two at a time, making his way to George's guest room as fast as his stocky body could carry him. The fact that nothing seemed disturbed on the steps or in the hall leading up to the room making it seem as though he were there on any normal given day, maybe any given Sunday after golf, taking in dinner and drinks the way old friends do.

The guest room itself is another animal entirely; for everything that had been housed in the makeup of that place was torn shit from shingle and Blue lay on the floor in the tangle of it like a broken, discarded doll.

Chuck was on his knees at her side, a gash at his temple and numerous other healing cuts, bruises, and abrasions making themselves known in the beam of Mort's flashlight.

The congealing puddle of blood surrounding Blue is a maroon and brown mess by now, the venom that had been spilled had sluggishly made it's way back inside of her; presumably in an attempt to heal the damage the shards of mirror had done.

"I didn't know if I should leave it in or take it out, I know for humans you have to leave it in, so they don't bleed out but…." Chuck trailed off, as he continued trying to rouse her in his own way; one of his hands wrapped around her own.

"No, you did right. I'll have to give you a crash course in Upir first aide like Akishla gave me quite a while back," Mort assured him, feeling for the smaller Upir that had quickly become his friend.

_May as well be my Son-in-Law now though…_

Mort shook the thought away as he pulled a bioluminescent vial of Upir venom from his pocket and set it down beside them as he knelt down and examined the position of the shard of mirror that was protruding from just below her ribs.

"Has she been conscious at all since?" He asked, removing a handkerchief from his top pocket and wrapping it around the shard before beginning to ease it out of her.

"No," Chuck replied, barely recognizing the aching sound of his own voice.

"Okay, well that's more of a blessing than anything for right now. She'd be in a world of pain right now if she were conscious with me doing this," Mort said, lifting the side of her shirt to see the gaping wound more clearly.

Chuck was no stranger to the sight of blood and gore. Hell, he had caused more of it than he'd care to admit but seeing Blue laying there motionless and completely reliant on them for survival was something that he wasn't prepared for. He wondered what had shifted within him so much, but whatever it had been, she had changed him in ways that were clearly irrevocable.

"Can you do me a favor and hold this for me?" Mort broke into his thoughts, handing him the flashlight.

"Is that stuff even going to work?" He asked, taking the flashlight and wincing slightly as he shone the beam onto Blue.

"Not the way it would if this were any other time of year. Hell, she would probably have healed up already if we weren't this close to her death day. I'm going to have to give her this now and repeat it again once we get her settled into bed back home," Mort said, uncorking the vial of Upir venom and carefully pouring it into her shredded side.

They both waited, watching as the venom pooled and glowed brightly only to fade into a dull, silvery puddle within the gaping crevice.

Mort pulls a surgical dressing out to keep the venom from seeping out of the gaping wound and carefully bandages her before sitting back on his haunches with a sigh.

"Is it safe to move her?" Chuck asked, a part of him still concerned that she hadn't regained consciousness.

"Yeah, don't worry. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time that I've had to do something like this." Mort confessed, lifting Blue with surprising ease.

Chuck went ahead of Mort to open the door to the house and the door to the back seat of Mort's car, helping Mort position her safely on her uninjured side in the back seat.

He managed to shift his lap beneath her head and shoulders so he could hold onto her during the ride and keep her from rolling onto the floor (hopefully), though if he were to be honest with himself, he wanted to be as close to her as he possibly could.

If Mort thought that his seating choice was odd, he didn't comment on it as he slid into the drivers seat and clicked his seatbelt into place.

"I'll have to send Carlos and one of his boys for her car tomorrow. Fetching her car from various locales seems to be becoming a part-time gig for him," Mort quipped, trying to take Chuck's mind off of his worry for his mate.

"You should just invest in tow truck," Chuck replied dryly, making Mort nod in agreement.

"Mort's Mortuary and Towing Services; has a nice ring to it." He chortled.

"Hey, it takes the guesswork out of fatal car accidents, right?" Chuck shrugged, making Mort laugh raucously.

"Oh yeah, tow the car and the body to the same place. If the idea takes off, I'll make you a silent partner." He promised.

"Speaking of Carlos, who's doing rounds if we're all three out here?" He asked curiously, feeling relieved that they were finally pulling away from George's house.

"Carlos and his wife, he's got his Brother watching his kids." He explained as they drove down the block.

Chuck was silent for a moment as he saw all of George's neighbors heading back into their homes or embracing friends and loved ones with confused expressions on their faces as they tried to figure out what had happened for the past day.

"You guys did good here Chuck," Mort said suddenly. As though he were reading his thoughts as he drove.

Chuck made a noncommittal noise and ran his fingers through Blue's hair once more, pausing to remove a few stray shards of glass from her thick tresses.

"She'll be okay… it was just kinda poor timing," Mort assured him again, seeing the way that he was looking at his would-be Daughter.

"That fuckin thing was brutal in there….I got distracted at the worst possible fuckin time too and that's when it turned on her. All it took was a split second," He replied, the feeling of remorse both alien and intense as it flooded his chest and squeezed his dead heart.

"What Akishla does isn't exactly easy. I went along on a couple of seances with her a while back; once to get rid of a poltergeist and once to get rid of something poltergeist-adjacent at George's place. I was just there to read and assist by handing her stuff and lighting candles when she told me to, but I didn't handle the one at George's too well." Mort said with a sigh, thinking back to a few years ago, just after George's Son had died.

"Jesus Christ, what kind of fuckin house is that? Or is George just that fuckin lucky?" Chuck asked, perturbed.

"Just that _unlucky _I guess. George's Son Joe was a military boy, a Marine to be exact; did two tours overseas and came back. Or at least some of him did. He lost his legs in a mortar shell explosion and mentally he was just a wreck, suffered from all kinds of trauma, so they kept him in a Hospital upstate for about six months before letting him come home. He had left a fiancée here when he had gone, but when he came back disabled she told him that she couldn't handle it and she broke off the engagement. Between the breakup and the mental trauma, it was too much for Joe. He shot himself in the head one night while George and his wife were asleep down the hall. The problem was that he didn't exactly _leave,_" Mort replied, shaking his head at the memory of the _thing _that had taken up residence in Joe's old room.

"Nice Fiancée," Chuck grumbled, thinking about a lot of the shallow bitches he had the displeasure of knowing in the past; his Ex included.

"Yeah, tell me about it. George always said that that was what put Joe over the edge, he kept telling everyone that he felt like such a failure when she dumped him. It had been really hard to put Joe to rest finally, because what he left behind was just so angry and desperate and bitter. Long story short, I'm supposed to be reading Latin in the corner, but it started talking to me in my Wife's voice. Needless to say I got distracted and landed asshole over appetite across the room and 'Kish had to multitask from there until I got my shit together, which pretty much drained her for days after. I had to carry her to the car that day too and I felt like shit because I had 'let her down', but the truth is that she's very special and we can't handle these situations like she can because we'll never have that type of ability and skill at it. What she has is a gift," He said earnestly.

"Yeah, bet she wishes that she could give it back." Chuck grimaced, thinking that Blue had been through enough Hell in her life without putting up with this shit too on top of everything else.

"Probably," Mort agreed, pulling into the Cemetery gates at last.

Chuck smirked at the irony as he sat back against the plush seats of the car in relief at finally being home. Who in their right mind would have thought that such a seemingly morbid place could inspire such a feeling of security and warmth?

Mort pulled the car in as close to their coach house as possible in an attempt to make the trip as short and as pain-free as they possibly could.

Chuck searched Blue's pockets until he found her keys, slipping her phone into his own pocket so it didn't fall and break while Mort got her into the house.

Mort lifted her small form from the backseat just as easily as he had earlier while Chuck hurriedly unlocked the house and got the lights on ahead of them.

He got her into the house and upstairs in record time, laying her on the bedspread and pulling her shirt up on the side to check the dressing.

The bandage had held on well, but was soaked through, which made Chuck nervous as he ran for her med kit in the closet.

"She shouldn't be bleeding like that," Chuck frowned, noticing for the first time since returning home that his hands were shaking.

Mort took the kit from him and opened it at the foot of the bed, taking out another vial of Upir venom and handing Chuck a pen light to shine so he could check the progression of healing, if any.

He shook his head silently, taking out a bottle of saline wound spray and sterile four by fours of gauze, he sprayed the injury down and wiped the excess blood away to see what he was dealing with.

"It's only healed about an inch, so it's still got a good five deep by seven wide to go. She's going to be unconscious for the rest of the night for sure; the nature of the venom isn't going to allow her to wake before then." He explained, pouring the vial of venom into the wound and using a new surgical bandage to seal it shut.

With Chuck's help, he placed a barrier of pillows behind her to be sure that she remained laying on her good side in her sleep.

Chuck removed her boots carefully before covering her with a blanket while Mort tossed out the soiled gauze and washed his hands in the bathroom sink before returning and beckoning for Chuck to follow him downstairs.

He looked at him as though he had grown an extra head.

"I'm not just gonna leave her here alone." Chuck said firmly, as though it were obviously _not _happening.

"Yes you are, for about fifteen minutes or so. You need to drink some blood and I can help you get that shard of chandelier out of your temple so that gash can close. You'll heal quicker that way, there's nothing wrong with _your _venom or healing capabilities, but you've got to get some blood into you. Have you even drank any today?" Mort asked him knowingly.

The smaller Upir frowned as he tried to recall when the last time was….

"Yeah, a pouch at some point this morning I think." He replied with a shrug.

He still felt uneasy about leaving Blue alone like this.

"Come on, I'll have a beer while you have your blood and I clean you up. Fifteen minutes tops, I promise." Mort insisted, making his way down the stairs with the med kit in hand.

Chuck sighed and rolled his eyes, slipping off the bed grudgingly and following his boss down to the kitchen.

Mort already had a Coors Lite and a pouch of O Negative in his hands and motioned for him to take a seat at the table.

He parked his ass in it's customary place, thinking about coffee and meals and blood shared here with Blue and he fidgeted distractedly in her absence. The kitchen was usually always filled with her laughter and chatter as she prepped their meals; they always talked and joked and playfully sniped at each other and made out and lived in this room.

It seemed eerily devoid of life without her.

When Mort dragged a chair over and reopened the med kit, he nearly had the tweezers to Chuck's face before his presence even registered to him.

"It's okay, don't mind me." Mort joked as he saw Chuck come to rather abruptly.

Chuck hissed softly as the shards of glass were carefully extracted and he felt the skin mend nearly instantaneously, wishing that the rate of healing were the same for his mate resting upstairs.

Mort pressed the pouch of blood into his hands insistently and he drank gratefully, feeling the majority of his energy return after he had drained it and reached for another in order to satiate his thirst.

"You staying here tonight?" Chuck asked neutrally; knowing that Mort was just as concerned for her as he was but was better at suppressing it for now.

"I'd love to, but I can't. She's always uncomfortable when she finds me lurking after she's been injured. I think that it's a stretch too far for her, like I'm being too much of a parental figure at that point, you know?" Mort shrugged.

Chuck understood. He also knew that Blue hated people making too big of a fuss over her; it made her feel like she was almost an inconvenience.

"But you could text me when she wakes up? Just so I know that she's ok." He amended and the Upir nodded his agreement, suddenly needing a shower and closer proximity to the girl he was bonded to.

"You got it. I uh…. Really appreciate your help with everything. There's a lot that you can do for her that I can't," Chuck said in awkward thanks, inwardly flinching at the thought of his smaller size and his inability to carry her to safety or drive in this body.

"Ditto," Mort replied with a kind smile, and Chuck was once again perplexed at his like of the eccentric and long-lived mortician.

He climbed the stairs stiffly, feeling a few aches that he was sure would have been at the very least serious contusions had he not been undead? Living dead? He snorted as he thought of asking Blue if there was some politically correct terminology among their kind that he should be using.

As he disrobed in the bathroom, he wrinkled his nose at the state of his clothes and considered burning the outfit as he tossed it in the waiting hamper, which was filling up a bit.

The stitches across his chest and abdomen pulled slightly as he stretched, attempting to work out the kinks in his limbs before turning on the hot spray of the shower and climbing under it gratefully.

As he watched the pink and orange tinge of blood running down the drain he tried and failed not to think about the memory the fucking demon had unleashed that he had kept locked away, even from himself.

If he tried to recall much more, it all remained foggy and opaque, but what he had seen in George's house was suddenly all too clear in his mind's eye and he dry-wretched as he punched the shower wall, cracking a few tiles unintentionally as he tried to get his shit together.

_You can't think about this shit right now. Blue needs you…_

Besides, thinking about it, even in its finest detail wouldn't change a goddamn thing.

The fact that he had killed his Father didn't really bother him much, the son of a bitch had it coming.

It was the look in his Mother's eyes that haunted him now.

The look of disgust and _shame _as he saved her ass from certain death that was crawling under his skin and making him feel like no amount of scrubbing was ever going to have him feeling _clean._

Chuck shut the shower off and stood there dripping, inhaling steam for a moment in an attempt to gather himself.

He toweled his hair dry none too gently and pulled on a pair of sweats before climbing into bed next to Blue, an overwhelming need to be closer to her driving everything else away as he pulled a blanket over both of them and curled as close to her as he possibly could.

"I'm sorry I fucked up." He muttered softly, unsure if he was apologizing to her or his Mother or _both._

_How many times you gonna fuck up Ray?_

_How many messes are you gonna leave?_

The voice of his old friend and betrayer Eddie Caputo resounded in his head and he squeezed his eyes shut.

He didn't want to think of Eddie; now or ever.

They had been like _Brothers _for Christ's sake.

Grew up in the fuckin orphanage together.

Ran the fuck out of amuck in high school together.

Had even _done fucking time together…_

Betrayal from Tiffany had almost been expected, but from Eddie it had felt like a knife in the gut that was twisted.

And why the fuck he was thinking about this shit at the crack of dawn was a real mystery to him as he turned to face Blue in the dark once more, studying the contours of her face in the dark.

Maybe he was a glutton for punishment.

For instance, this tiny five foot tall spit of a girl that he was crazy about.

He sighed in the dark as he missed all of his nearly six foot tall former body at times like these when all he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms, whether for her comfort or his he wasn't sure anymore.

All he was sure of was that when he closed his eyes and breathed her in, Eddie and Tiffany and his Mother that he barely knew and his Father that he wish he had never known disappeared at last and he was finally able to sleep.

When he awoke several hours later, he let forth a stream of colored expletives as a beam of sunlight from the slightly parted curtains hit him smack dab in the eyes when he rolled over.

Relief washed over him when he heard Blue stir beside him and giggle softly, shoving him in playful chastisement.

"That's what you get for not closing the curtains," She said hoarsely, her voice rough with sleep and exhaustion.

The jibe he was going to answer her with died on the tip of his tongue when he turned towards her and took in her puffy eyes and her paler than usual complexion.

He swallowed thickly and tried again, thankful that her eyes were closed so she didn't witness him catching himself.

"Sorry, I was beat last night." Chuck amended, snatching his phone off of the nightstand and shooting a text to Mort that she was awake.

Blue winced and hissed as she attempted to turn over and her side flared in protest.

"Hey, take it easy. Try not to move until I see what's going on with your wound," He said, hopping off of the bed to snatch up the med kit once more.

Blue groaned again when she saw the state of her clothes from the day before, which were covered in blood, dust, and other miscellaneous grime that one attains when demon-banishing.

"What the fuck happened? I can't remember getting hurt," She croaked, flinching when Chuck slowly pulled her shirt up and off of her to get at the bandaging easier.

"Shit," He muttered, seeing that it was soaked through again.

"What?" She asked, trying to glance down at herself without actually moving her body much.

"You need blood I think… you aren't healing well," He replied, climbing back into bed next to her and looking at her expectantly as though he were waiting for her to just dig in.

Blue fell back against her pillows and shut her eyes, perfectly content to tell the world to fuck itself and go back to sleep.

"Come on Babe, just a few sips." He prompted her once more, shifting closer to her in an attempt to make it that much easier to reach his jugular.

"This is going to sound really bad even though I don't mean it like it sounds, but if I drink anything right now, I'll freaking vomit." She replied, reaching for him without opening her eyes just to feel him closer to her.

"But if you drink from me, it'll help you heal faster, won't it?" He frowned, noticing that she had dark circles around her eyes too.

"It might. I'm just tired Chuck, I need to sleep." She muttered, hands ice cold as they slide down his arm bonelessly.

He sighed and began to nuzzle against her neck, nipping her gently enough not to break the skin, but firm enough to draw her attention.

"Would you mind if I just laid here this time? As much as I'd love to participate, I'm feeling very postmortem right now." Blue stammered, shivering in a way that he knew had nothing to do with desire.

"Will you just drink and stop being so fuckin stubborn? Christ," He snapped, letting his mouth get away from him as was characteristic of Charles Lee Ray annoyed and frustrated, but he was feeling at wits end with her and they had been awake all of five minutes.

Blue squinted her violet eyes open long enough to glare before sinking her fangs into his neck none to gently, the rumbling growl of pleasure-pain she heard in response to her rough treatment of him music to her ears as she drank from him in several shallow pulls before detaching and half collapsing back onto the bed.

He took a very deep breath and swallowed thickly in an attempt to get ahold of the venom rushing decidedly south as it did nearly every time they fed off of one another. When he had been alive- well- _human_, if anyone would have asked him to define intimacy he would have given the inquisitor two answers; when you're fucking someone and when you're killing someone; those are the two types of true intimacy you could share with someone.

Then he had met Blue.

Then they had fucked each other senseless.

Then he had turned into an Upir.

_Then _they had fed off of one another, and only _then _had he known intimacy.

Chuck was suddenly so shaken from holding himself back from her that he wondered if she wasn't a drug.

His own personal formula that he would need a hit off of again and again and again, only there was no such thing as an overdose.

There was just a constant fucking _need._

He lets out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

Well, fuck…..

He slips out of bed and cards his fingers through his hair, the feathery layers of dark auburn were getting longer, easily brushing his shoulder blades now.

"Where're you going?" Blue murmured quietly, her speech slurred with exhaustion and something else he can't put a finger on.

"I need to get some of that saline shit to clean you up a bit," He replied, heading back to the med kit to re-focus.

"Just leave it… too tired," She slurred once more and for some reason, he wanted to throw something.

Not because he was angry at her.

Because he couldn't _help her._

At least not how he wanted to.

And in also typical Charles Lee Ray fashion; that just made him angry with himself.

He gathered what he needed and returned to her side, sensing by some unknown vibe that she had fallen asleep again.

She didn't even stir when he peeled the soggy bandage from her side and tossed it in the trash.

Charles Lee Ray was also (obviously) no stranger to blood.

He had caused more bloodshed than he could even recall in it's totality, had seen more than his fare share of injuries of all kinds.

He had been shot to death for fucks sake.

He had stabbed, strangled, and (in a pinch) shot his way through people as though they were no more than little stick figures.

Just notches on his belt.

A way to up his (already impressive) kill count.

He therefore did not understand or appreciate his stomach flip-flopping as he wiped Blue's side clean with saline and gauze, his hands shaking like a fucking rookie trying to pull his first heist.

It had healed another inch or so, _painstakingly _it seemed; the blood congealing with the used venom and making a sludgy silvery-copper mess of her wound.

He paused when he reached for another vial of Upir venom, shaking his head as an idea formed in his distracted mind and he looked through her bag for a scalpel and a couple of spare vials that were blessedly empty.

It squicked him just a tiny bit when he sliced into his inner arm, he wasn't accustomed to purposely causing himself pain. Then again, as he caught the blood-venom mixture that flowed from the wound into the vial, he thought about the years that he had been with Tiffany off and on and he partially questioned if he wasn't somewhat a sadist after all.

The incision he had made in his arm healed within seconds, allowing him to set both vials on the nightstand and retrieve Blue's battered lighter from her bloodied and discarded jacket from the night before. Just as she had shown him in the kitchen below, he heated the side of the tempered glass vial until the venom sensed the deadly heat and wiggled free of the blood and into the empty vial beside it.

"Gotcha," He hissed triumphantly, clamping his thumb over the top of the venom filled vial to stop it from escaping before he could get it to the bed.

Chuck carefully poured the holographic substance into her wound, sighing in relief when the gaping injury sealed shut at last, leaving behind only slightly contused flesh in its absence, which he was almost certain would be gone by the end of the day.

The only thing that perturbed him now as he was pulling the blanket back over her was how pink and shiny the suicide scarring on her wrists looked now.

He pulled a plain black tee and jeans on and made his way down to the kitchen with his phone in hand and the thought of coffee in his head when the gadget in his palm pinged, signaling a text.

_Can I come in?_

It was Mort of course.

He changed direction and headed to the front door, letting their anxious looking boss-friend in.

"She's better now I think. I gave her some of my venom and that fucking thing _finally _closed." He informed him as he put the damned kettle on for the French press.

"That's good, she just needs to sleep now. I'm glad that you're here with her, she hates… well, normally she hates kindness and help of any kind. It's almost like she thinks she deserves the punishment for something," Mort confessed, plopping an envelope down on the dining room table that was addressed to Blue in scratchy writing.

"It's from Rob," Mort shrugged, causing Chuck to look up from the fridge he was retrieving creamer from out their kitchen window and shake his head; the tour bus was gone.

"I take it he's not one for long goodbyes?" He snorted, putting out the cream and trying to ignore the clenching in his gut as he took down the cups that he and Blue normally used for their morning coffee…..

"Nah, he leaves like that every year. She's given me an earful about it before," Mort confessed with a shrug.

Chuck was feeling the _other _type of thirst beginning to nag the back of his throat just so, and he pauses as he is torn when he turns towards the fridge once more; the memory of Blue's wound temporarily nauseating him, but the thirst ultimately won out and he snatched a pouch of blood off of the top shelf before he could change his mind.

If Mort noticed his hesitation, he didn't mention it.

The longer Chuck knew Mort, the more he thought that there were probably _a lot _of things that he noticed but didn't mention.

He stabbed a metal straw into the bag and drank the first sip quickly, as though instinctively avoiding the taste at first. He needn't have worried though as he sipped on, the thick burgundy-maroon liquid tasting sweet and refreshing.

Mort was silent for several minutes, the kettle rattling on as it reached boiling point and began to whistle softly behind them. He was up out of his seat quickly, pouring the hot water into the press and allowing the coffee to brew in its archaic fashion on the table between them.

Chuck always prided himself on being a damn good reader of people; and the way that Mort was behaving was just a bit too awkwardly preoccupied compared to the man who had been in this kitchen the previous night downing a beer.

"You look like a long-tailed cat in a room full of fuckin rocking chairs, what gives?" He asked suddenly, graciously breaking the silence and giving the man a starting point to what looked like was a difficult subject.

Mort chuckled and poured their coffee, looking for something to do with his hands.

"I uh…..came here to talk about 'Kish. But if she knew that I was here for that, she'd bite my freaking head off as you probably know, so…." He trailed awkwardly.

"It stays between us, I get it." Chuck nodded, gesturing for Mort to continue.

"I know that it's not my business…..but… well with the way things seem between the two of you and what the old vampire talked about….. I'm going to assume that you're going to be in this for the long haul?" Mort asked, clearing his throat uncomfortably.

_Oh Loa help him….._

_It was THAT kind of talk._

"Yeah. I'm uh…. Not going anywhere," He agreed just as awkwardly.

He had never been the type of guy that chicks brought home to introduce to their folks, so he was treading unfamiliar waters here for the most part. If anything, he had always been some crazy broads bad boy fixation and nothing more. With Tiffany, they fought just as much as they fucked, and he could never say that they ever really even had make up sex; it was always a bit more like hate-fucking.

"Good," Mort sighed, as though the answer Chuck had given him were half the battle.

"But?" Chuck asked, trying to help the poor fucker out.

Talking to a three-foot tall weird ass Upir-Man-Doll thingy that looked like it had made out with a woodchipper and was currently Mated to your pseudo-daughter could not be easy.

Then there was the serial killer voodoo shit mixed in.

Poor fucker indeed….

"But… her current condition….. with her death day coming up, things are only going to get worse from here, Charles. Not better, not until it passes at least. And it hurts and she gets pretty mean and mouthy, but she doesn't really mean anything she says while she's going through it, that's what you have to keep in mind. She's going to get weaker and sicker and in more pain until…. Until it passes," Mort is so pale that he is gaunt as he looks at Chuck with enough anxiety and sadness that it seems to suck all of the unneeded oxygen from the room.

"I know. I'm not gonna abandon her though, if that's what you're afraid of. I had to argue with her a bit already this morning to drink blood to heal herself, I know she's stubborn. Not to mention that she bit the hell outta me for my troubles, but I'm a stubborn asshole too. I'll do whatever I can to help her through these next few weeks, I already know it's not gonna be easy." He assured him as much as he could.

On a deeper level, he had never really experienced losing someone he cared about, even temporarily.

He had just never _given much of a fuck before._

"I've tried to help her in the past, but she only allows me to see so much and only allows me to do so much. I've tried before, but she's always refused." Mort explained sullenly.

"I've already told her that that shit isn't going to fly with me, I'm not letting her die alone, even if it is temporary. Fuckin curse is bullshit," He said irritably, causing Mort to smirk.

"Aren't they all?" Mort mused distantly, raising his cup in a silent salute.


	17. Chapter 17: Unraveling

**Chapter 17: Unraveling**

"What the fuck? Seriously? _Again?! _Did I not have this conversation with this fucking idiot for the last _three years in a row?! What the fuck? _How many languages- because I know at least a dozen fluently- does this asshole need this shit translated into?" Blue had awakened thirsty and irritable, only to hear that the company that they ordered flower bulbs and other planting materials from to plant around the cemetery walkways had fucked up the order again.

Mort stood there in their kitchen looking miffed himself, but Blue was apoplectic.

"I'm just going to have Carlos wrap everything back up and-

"Really? No, no you are not. This has already put Carlos and his crew behind schedule, _I _am going to call that idiotic fucking ignoramus and-

"'Kish, just take it easy. I'll handle it, I didn't mention it for you to handle. I just-

Here, Blue laughs sarcastically to interrupt and Chuck swallows, trying to school his features into a serious expression and keep it that way.

"Oh okay, you'll 'handle it'." Here, she pops up air quotations and rakes a hand through her hair in frustration.

"If either of us were 'handling it' properly this jackass wouldn't be here for the third year in a fuckface row like the puss-filled little hemorrhoid that he is sending us god knows what to put god knows where! What's it going to be next year? Carrots? Lettuce? Radishes? Are we going to start telling visitors that they can just walk by on their way to memorial sites and pluck their own goddamn salad from the ground while their at it?!" She had begun to pace, but Chuck couldn't hold it anymore, he hopped off of his chair and stuck his head in the fridge as though he were looking for something only to silent laugh and try to get it all out.

"Okay, well what do you want to do?" Mort asked, trying to level with her here as calmly as possible.

"I can't tell you that because if I did, then the whole thing would seem premeditated." She hissed, shoving her chair back into the table and snatching her phone off of the counter.

"'Kish, it's okay I got it." Mort tried placating her again only to have her ignore him completely and dial the company that had screwed up their planting again.

"Yes, hi Howard. This is Akishla from the cemetery," She paused while the person on the other end asked her a question.

"What do you mean _which cemetery? _The one you delivered the wrong shit to again today. Yes THAT cemetery. Listen, my landscapers are _already _behind schedule because of your incompetence. So, what _you _are going to do is send _your people _back here bright and early tomorrow to pick up all the shit that you dropped off today and get it _off _of our property by noon, at which time I'm going to expect a full refund as well as the correct order dropped off because this is the _third year in a row _that this is happening. We will also not be renewing our contract with you next year. Did you get all of that down? Need any crayons or paste or colorful diagrams explaining it? No? Good." She hung up and tossed the phone down onto the table, glaring out of her window at Carlos' crew in the distance.

"There, handled. Carlos needs to get all the shit in the hothouses together too, why the hell are they still out there digging?" She asked Mort, confused.

Mort winced, knowing that she wasn't going to like the answer to that question either.

"Don't worry, I've got him working on something right now, but everything will be back on schedule after tomorrow." He assured her.

Blue seemed to deflate suddenly, her puffy eyes a telltale sign that she didn't get nearly enough rest before deciding that she couldn't stand laying in bed any longer.

"Your circus, your monkeys." She sighed, stifling a yawn as though the conversation had already drained her.

"Kish, why don't you just stay here and relax tonight? I'll do the rounds." Mort asked her, knowing what her answer was going to be anyways.

"Ugh. Aren't you starting a bit early this year? Chill out, I have Chuck with me, and I'll be fine. I promise," She assured him, feeling sheepishly guilty for snapping at him moments ago for a situation that wasn't his fault.

Mort sighed, holding his tongue for the moment about making promises that she couldn't really keep before back off, hands in the air.

"Alright. Be careful around J through M, roads are still a little craggy and I think the Petersen's left some raw marble slabs over there in a couple of places. It's not in the road, but in case you need to get out of the car for any reason." He shrugged, thinking about possible intruders.

Blue was itching for someone to break in tonight so she could get her hands dirty, but she didn't say anything aloud.

Instead, she gave Mort a half hug goodbye and silently felt like complete shit for feeling the way she always felt this time of year; like something was itching to crawl out from under her skin and she needed to punch something and bleed to appease it.

It is this crawling itchy feeling that has her grabbing her car keys early and shoving her feet into her boots.

"What's up?" Chuck askes, seeing the fidgety way she is moving.

"Come on, lets hit up Starbucks before we get locked in." She replies, beckoning for him to follow her as she heads out the door.

Chuck shrugs and makes to follow her, but the sight of the envelope from Rob stops him.

"Hey, uh.. Rob left this for you," He said awkwardly, handing her the envelope.

"Thanks," Blue deadpanned, already accustomed to her friend never saying goodbye to her and just heading back on the road.

Chuck locked up and followed her to Bessie, where she seemed to plop into the driver's seat unenthusiastically.

"You sure you're okay babe?" He asked gingerly, knowing that she was steadily becoming more miffed whenever Mort asked.

"Just peachy, Chuck. The world's my fucking oyster," She harrumphed, making him snort derisively.

"I'm sorry I asked," He replied, trying to keep a straight face at her open animosity.

It was times like these that she reminded him of himself the most, which also reminded him of why they got on so well.

Blue instantly looked regretful and she took a deep breath and dug her pack of cigs out of her pocket, groaning and rolling her eyes when she saw that it was empty.

"Can you be ever so kind and pop the glove compartment and dig us a new pack out?" She asked wearily.

"Sure thing. Jesus Christ! I didn't even know three cartons could fit in a fuckin glove compartment!" He exclaimed, making her laugh at his antics as he cracked a new carton open and handed her a pack.

"You can take a pack for yourself too you know." She replied with a soft smile, relaying her underlaying affection for him.

"You getting tired of sharing one with me?" He asked, enjoying the slight blush that crept up her cheeks as she paid particular attention to the empty cemetery road ahead.

"No, I never said that. I was just offering in case you were getting tired," Blue said, hitting the open road as they lit their smokes in near synchronization.

"Nah, I'm good. Gives me more of a reason to annoy you when I dig around for them in your pockets," He joked, making her roll her eyes and blow her smoke in his direction.

"I'll stick a mouse in there one of these days to surprise you. I read somewhere that spontaneity is good for romance," She quipped with a wink.

Chuck coughed mid-drag, laughing and inhaling not so great of a mix.

Thank Damballah that he no longer was required to breathe.

He was looking pensive for a moment as she stopped at a red light and glanced over at him, quirking a brow in silent question.

When he wasn't forthcoming she nudged him with her elbow.

"What? Spit it out," She said, continuing on to the drive-thru, the strong smell of coffee seeming to permeate the brick coffee shop and energize the air around them.

He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut across him when they reached the menu.

"What are you getting?" She asked, telling the barista to hold on for a minute.

"Same as last time is fine." He shrugged; he was a man of simple tastes.

Blue studied the menu a moment longer, bouncing in her seat indecisively for a moment before shrugging and ordering their venti double americano's, a coffee traveler box of dark roast for their overnight shift, and two mozzarella and tomato panini's for the road.

"Hey! It's the girl with the blue hair! I keep meaning to tell you how much I like it every time I see you, but I keep forgetting. Using your app again today?" The barista asked as they pulled up to the window.

"Yeah, uh….. thanks." Blue smiled awkwardly at the girls compliment as she handed her phone over and her app was scanned for their purchases.

"Okeydokey, it'll just be a moment while I get your order together guys." She chirped, closing the window once more.

"Uh….'guys'? As in she saw both of us?" He asked incredulously, making Blue snicker.

"Don't sweat it, okay? She didn't see you the way you really look right now, so chill. I just don't have the strength available to make you invisible the way I usually do, it's actually easier right now for me to throw a glamour over your form instead." She confessed, feeling annoyed with herself for how weak she was and how drained her powers were at this time of year.

Chuck shrugged and winked at her, enjoying the way her eyes lit up as she blushed.

"Relax, I was just curious." He said reassuringly.

The barista reappeared with their order moments later, handing the items out to her one by one. Blue set the traveler box in the back on the floor along with the cream, sugar, and extra cups before handing Chuck his coffee and sandwich and pulling off.

"I'm just slightly addicted to these stupid panini thingy's." Blue explained, rolling her eyes at herself as she took her first gooey cheesy bite.

"Yeah, uh…. Thanks for dinner again," He said awkwardly, wondering again why she was always so giving.

"No problem. Gotta make sure that I introduce you to the more important things of this decade," She quipped, sipping her latte with relish.

Chuck laughed then, and it was warm and genuine, which was amazingly how he usually felt around this crazily complex girl.

They were able to swing back into the cemetery gates with minutes to spare before Carlos locked up, which was more convenient than having to get out and unlock them, as Blue was feeling especially lackadaisical.

Part of her was yearning for blood and a nap, and it was barely sundown.

She parked under a large oak tree and waited for Carlos and his crew to make their exit and lock up, giving them time to finish their panini's and lattes with relative peace in the sunset.

"So….. I was gonna ask you something, but… I'm kind of shitty at wording stuff and I don't want you to take it the wrong way," Chuck confessed awkwardly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

Blue chuckled dryly and rolled her eyes as she sipped her coffee, relishing the bitter tang and the heat of it.

"Since I've had your dick in more than one orifice I think it's a little late to be shy, don't you?" She asked, not taking her eyes off of Carlos and his crew as they packed up.

Chuck choked mid sip and she laughed raucously at his reaction, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she watched him struggling to regain composer as though she knew exactly what his reaction was going to be.

"Jesus Christ Blue! Are you trying to kill me?" He rasped, setting his coffee back in the cup holder as though he no longer trusted it.

"Not really, no." She replied with a shrug, a bemused look on her face as she glanced back over at him as though urging him to continue with his line of questioning.

"Fuck, I don't even want to ask now." He huffed, clearing his throat.

"See? Question resolved," Blue replied serenely, drumming her palms on the steering wheel as though she were restless once more.

"It is so not resolved! What the hell? You're an impossible shit today, you know that?" He laughed.

Blue shrugged again in an I-don't-know-what-you-want-me-to-say sort of way and he shook his head.

"_Anyways, _I was going to ask you…. Why are you so… _nice _all of the time?" He asked, seeing a confused frown cross her face before she took her eyes off the path ahead of them and met his eyes once more.

"I don't understand what you mean," She replied honestly, and just by the look in her eyes; he knew that she had dropped her smart assery.

"I mean the way you just give all of the time, without even asking. Hell, sometimes I think that you do it without even _thinking. _It's like a natural impulse for you," Chuck said, smirking when she rolled her eyes and scoffed.

"I don't do that," She muttered, starting the car and pulling out into the main road to begin their rounds in hopes that he would drop it.

"Yeah you do. You did it the night that you picked me up in the middle of the road and you haven't really stopped since," He pressed on, making Blue shake her head.

"It's a uh… cultural thing I guess. It's hard to explain," She answered vaguely, slowing down and skirting around a group of geese that had gathered in the road.

"I was pretty good in Social Studies and Multicultural Arts, I'm sure I could grasp it if I tried." He said in earnest.

"It's a clan thing I guess, but even when we left, it's a tradition we pretty much still kept. When you're part of the clan, everyone shares everything they have with everyone else. Food, money, clothes, medicine, cigarettes, whiskey, whatever. I mean, obviously you have things that are your own, but if we had earned extra money and someone was in need, we shared what we had. If someone was too old to work or too ill, we cared for them and helped them because they were family; maybe not by direct blood, but they were part of the clan so it didn't matter. If one family had extra meat and another vegetables, and another herbs, we pooled our resources and made a giant pot of stew so that everyone could eat. You understand?" Blue asked, meeting his eyes briefly before she turned back to the road and turned down the next section.

"Yeah, I understand that. But I'm not part of your clan, hell I'm not even gypsy of any kind. My folks were Irish and Scottish and were third generation American at least," He said as she gave a derisive snort and took a long sip of coffee.

"So you think that the whole clan was made up of people that were born into it? I mean, a lot were, but we integrated a fair share of like-minded people as well along the way. People that wanted to roam free from country to country and live the way we did; selling our wares and our music from town to town and never staying in one place for too long. There are a lot of people that don't like taking root in the ground, so to speak. Anyhow, it's engrained enough into me that I don't know of any other way to be. It's even bled into my friendship with Mort, though he would make a good gypsy himself if it came down to it…. If he could ever completely let go of his past. The bones of his dead wife and children keep him rooted here though, and I don't think that that's likely to ever change." She sighed, driving along the lake in the middle of the grounds now, the half moon above throwing a silvery shimmer over the tiny ripples made by the wading ducks and geese.

"Okay…..I still don't see why you helped me at first or why you trusted me enough to bring me back to your house and heal me, or anything that happened after. You know, up until we got to know each other a bit more and things got more…. Involved," He finished awkwardly, and it was her turn to smirk.

"Call it intuition I guess; besides, you didn't look particularly threatening the night that we met. You looked like a drowned ginger rat," Blue laughed fondly, her eyes flickering back over to his briefly once more.

"Doesn't say much about your taste; being attracted to ginger rats and all." Chuck shot back and she laughed again.

"Don't make me report you to HR for insubordination, you forget that I have seniority over you here by a few decades." She quipped, pulling slowly away from the lake, and heading into a small avenue of mausoleums and crypts; several of which looked ancient though well preserved.

Chuck turned to face her, but the retort died on his lips when he saw the look on her face and her stiffened posture as though she were stealing herself against some unwelcome thing that had nothing to do with their usual banter.

They drove on down the winding path in silence for a moment and Chuck reached for his coffee while trying to mentally rehash their conversation in an attempt to ascertain if he had said something wrong.

Blue drained her coffee then in an attempt at distraction because her hands felt like lead on the steering wheel and the scars on her wrists both itched and ached simultaneously. She thought of a cigarette but shrugged the thought away nearly as soon as it had come.

There were things that even nicotine couldn't help with.

Chuck's eyes widened fractionally as they approached a granite crypt with the name _Rainieri _emblazoned above the doors in elegant script. There were two lanterns framing the doors on either side, and Chuck noted that one of the flickering lights had gone out on the left as she pulled to a stop beside the crypt and hopped out of the car as though her seat were on fire; going around to her trunk and tugging it open. He heard her rifle around for a moment before quickly reappearing with a small box of lightbulbs in her hands.

Blue's fingers were nearly numb as she shakily switched out the dead bulb for a new one and the lantern flickered to life once more in the ornate fixture. She returned to the trunk and tossed the box in, slamming it shut and returning to the drivers seat in record time before peeling off a bit quicker than was strictly allowed in the confines of the cemetery.

"Uh…..I'm not trying to be an overtly nosey asshole, but couldn't Carlos or one of his guys do that for you?" He asked softly as she took another corner, trying to put as much distance between herself and her Father's resting place.

"No. They won't go near it, especially Carlos….. they think it's cursed." She replied, reaching for her cigarettes, and struggling with the lighter until Chuck took it in his steadier hands and lit it for her.

"Thanks," Blue muttered around the filter, taking a long drag, and holding the smoke in her lungs for a moment before letting it out slowly.

"Bunch of fuckin' pansies," Chuck said darkly, lighting his own smoke.

Blue snorted derisively and shook her head, their speed returning to normal as they drove on to the next section.

"I can't say I blame them really, they're only human." She mused softly, a wistful expression on her face.

"Why couldn't Mort have just-

"He offered to. I told him that I would do it. It's fine," She shrugged, turning back to the road, and gasping as she saw the figure of a man step out into the pathway.

Blue slammed on her brakes reflexively and let out a piercing shriek as the mans features were illuminated by her headlights.

Chuck swore softly when he saw the bird collide with the windshield and land with a loud thunk on the hood of the car, but Blue was in hysterics beside him, sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.

"Take it easy, it's a bird! It's okay," He unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for her.

"It wasn't a fucking bird!" She exclaimed in denial, gasping unneeded air as he brushed the tears from her cheeks and shushed her.

The raven on the hood let forth a reproachful caw as Blue stumbled out of the car sweeping the wide beam of her flashlight back and forth across the ground in front of Bessie as well as looking under the wheels for good measure.

"I saw him! I saw him….." She sobbed desperately as Chuck approached her and pulled her over to the hood of the car.

"Look, that's what we hit. I don't know what the hell he was doing flying at night but here's the proof; it was a bird, Babe." He assured her as she pulled one of the Starbucks napkins from her pocket and wiped her eyes.

Blue pulled off her jacket shakily and gently draped it atop the struggling Raven, his mournful caws muffled as she took the wriggling bundle back to the car.

She sniffed and swallowed before unwrapping the birds head and turning the overhead lights on.

"Oh shit… he's blind. That's why he was flying at night, I don't think he knows that it's night." Blue said, indicating the milky pupils of the ravens eyes.

"Well do we shoot him to put him out of his misery? I think his wing is broken, it's kind of hanging lower than the other one." Chuck asked, pointing out the apparent injury.

"No! Jesus Charles!" She chided, snapping back to herself instantly.

"Venom?" He asked as she settled the bird in her lap before pulling off again.

"No. You shouldn't ever use venom on an animal unless you want some weird ass results," She replied, driving them slowly back towards their house.

"Exhibit A?" He asked, indicating himself with a smirk.

Blue laughed in spite of herself and shook her head before dialing Mort and taking a deep breath as the phone rang.

"What happened?" He answered, almost as though he knew something had gone wrong.

"Hello to you too. Listen, I hit a bird and I'm taking it home right now. I broke it's wing and it's blind," She explained uneasily.

"Oh. One of the geese?" He asked, seeming to deflate in relief.

"No, a raven." She replied as the bird gave a croak from its nest in her lap.

"So I hear. Are you guys okay?" He asked solicitously.

"Yeah…. Yeah we're fine," Blue assured him as the raven cawed loudly once more as though he disagreed.

"Your passenger begs to differ," Mort replied, and Blue gave a watery laugh.

"Alright, lemme just get him settled in at home and I'll head back out." She hung up as their house came into view.

At a loss for what else to do, she took a couple of bath towels and made a makeshift nest for him in their tub before returning to finish off their rounds. The rest of the evening passed uneventfully as they finished half the box of coffee and killed another pack of cigarettes as the dawn approached. By the time Blue was finishing one last rotation of the outer gates, Mort was unlocking the gate uncharacteristically early and chatting with Carlos and crew.

"What has you up so early?" She asked curiously.

"I came to see your victim and I have breakfast for us," He replied, bidding Carlos farewell and following Bessie in his own car towards their house.

Blue was frowning softly as she pulled into the driveway and Mort parked behind them.

"What is it?" Chuck asked, but she shook her head and got out.

"I'm assuming you don't have a cage for him? I dug this out of the attic….. the uh, kids used to keep a parrot, but it's just collecting dust now." Mort said stiffly as he dragged a large domed antique cage out of his backseat.

"Mort, you don't have to…. I could just order one from Amazon," Blue assured him, but he shook his head.

Chuck unlocked the door as Mort followed with the cage and Blue brought up the rear with the paper bags from Burger King containing breakfast.

Mort set the cage down on the coffee table and began to help Chuck unpack the food as Blue disappeared up the steps to retrieve their reluctant feathered guest.

"Did she have an episode last night? Was that what happened with the bird?" Mort whispered and Chuck's eyes widened.

"Yeah, right after she changed the lightbulb at the crypt. In her defense though, the goddamned thing just flew right into us, but she thought she hit a person. She was a little frantic for a few minutes, but I calmed her down." He replied, grabbing a pepsi from the fridge and offering one to Mort, who shook his head.

Blue reappeared with the raven wrapped in a towel for Mort's inspection.

"I was looking at some of the local wildlife rehab websites around here and they all say the same thing; that they'd likely euthanize him at this point. In a lot of flowery words, they seem to think a bird in his condition would be a waste of already strained resources; and that's if he were only blind." Mort said regretfully.

The raven cawed loudly in her arms, cocking its head to the side unseeing in her direction.

"It's fine. I'll just keep him here I guess," She replied, taking a pack of steak from the freezer, and placed it in the microwave on defrost.

"On the other hand, your venom….

"No. That would be too complicated," She cut him off.

"Then you'll have an interesting specimen for ten to fifteen years," He said with a sigh and she nodded as she retrieved the cage from the living room and placed it on the sideboard, allowing the bird to hop into it awkwardly.

She washed her hands and chopped up the steak to impatient squawking from the cage once he had a whiff of the raw meat from the low perch he had hopped onto.

"Well at least your sense of smell hasn't been compromised," She muttered as she piled the meat onto a tea saucer and placed it in the cage with a dish of water and watched as he tucked in with gusto. Blue smiled fondly as she watched him gobbling up the strips of meat with loud clicks of his beak before her eyes met Chucks and he smirked as though this proved the point of the conversation they had had yesterday.

"You wouldn't happen to have any _bigger _cages at home, would you Mort?" She asked pointedly as she retrieved a soda for herself.

"Not since the wife left, no." He replied to Chuck's amusement.

Blue scoffed and slumped into a chair, feeling exhausted though their shift had been mostly uneventful (minus the bird)

"So, he came out of nowhere huh?" Mort asked as Blue took a reluctant bite of her sandwich.

"Basically. Scared the shit out of me for a minute, like that Hitchcock movie." She replied, shaking her head.

"You should call him Alfred," Mort suggested, but Blue wrinkled her nose.

"Nah, that would make me think of Batman." She said almost distastefully.

"What's wrong with Batman?" Asked Mort, looking affronted.

"I'm more of a Joker fan," She said absently, watching as the raven dipped his beak into the glass of water and drank greedily.

"Could call him Hitchcock," Chuck suggested with a shrug, having a very vague memory of the movie from his youth. He seemed to recall a pot hazed evening on Eddie Caputo's couch in high school.

"Yeah, we could do that." She agrees.

"Listen, I wanted to ask you guys if you were up for a game of spades tonight? I was thinking of making some steaks and kabobs on the grill, some cocktails and beer?" Mort asked, looking between the two of them hopefully.

"Uh….. who's our fourth?" Blue asked.

"We have a fourth, no worries. George and Annie wanted to come over for a drink and thank you guys for what you did the other day; don't worry I kind of explained a bit about Chuck." Mort said, seeing Blue wince and lean back in her chair.

"He doesn't have to thank us, it's fine. But um….spades sounds good," She replied, stifling a yawn.

"Kish…. I want you on sick leave until after….. until next month. I have Carlos and a couple of guys on his crew rotating watch like always at this time of year, they're used to it." Mort said, wincing as she stood abruptly and tossed the rest of her food.

"So that's why you came over here? To tell me that I'm out two weeks earlier than usual?" Blue asked, her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"Akishla, it's a little over a week earlier at best. I just don't want you driving into the lake or crashing into a mausoleum on your rounds. You know how much I worry about you around this time, I just don't want you to get hurt." He reasoned softly, but she snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Don't want me to get hurt? What happens if I get hurt Mort? I heal. I heal like nothing ever happened," She slammed her chair back into place at the table, earning a reproachful caw from Hitchcock for her trouble as she stalked passed Chuck and Mort.

"Just because you can heal doesn't mean that it's okay that you get hurt," Mort said, causing her to flinch.

"I'm going to die at the end of this month. Again. No amount of sick leave or bed rest or useless convalescence is going to change that!" She shouted, causing Chuck to flinch at her words.

Mort studied the floor for a moment before meeting her eyes

"Well, if you don't give a shit about yourself at least spare the rest of us some pain. Chuck is in the same car as you are, and a serious crash could hurt him just as much if not worse than it could hurt you. I keep telling you that you aren't here alone; you never have been. Stop trying to push us away because let alone does it not work; it's just taking more out of you than is necessary. I'll see you at seven, get some rest." He kissed her forehead and headed out the door, leaving her at the foot of the stairs hugging her midsection as though she were holding pieces of herself together.


	18. Chapter 18: What Happened?

**Chapter 18:**

Blue had collapsed on the bed with her clothes still on but had at the very least managed to toe her shoes off of her feet with a clunk. She curled into a fetal position on her side and turned on Netflix just as Chuck entered their room and tugged a pair of jogging pants out of the dresser, heading to the bathroom for a shower. Blue wished she had the energy to join him, but she felt herself begin to drift as soon as the opening credits had finished.

When she came to sometime later, the sun was higher in the sky and she cussed softly as she fumbled to close the curtains and fought to blink the blindness from her eyes. When she turned back to the bed, Chuck was there with a couple of pouches of blood and she wondered if she looked as awful as she felt.

"Sorry, I kind of passed out." She muttered as she sat beside him, but he shook his head and stabbed a straw into one of the pouches and handed it to her.

Blue drank the blood down slowly and her head swam slightly; it was quenching her thirst, but the spark of renewed energy that normally came with it was absent and would remain so until next month. When she finished it, Chuck handed her the second, but she shook her head.

"I think I'll throw up on you if I even try," She said uneasily.

"You need to try, Babe. You're pale as hell," He urged gently.

Blue stabbed the straw in and took the smallest of sips before setting the pouch on the nightstand and propping herself up against the headboard.

"Have you drank yet?" She asked sleepily.

"Yeah and I fed Hitchcock again. I read that he can eat nuts and seeds and veggies too, so I ordered some groceries for him and us; you never told me about Instacart!" He said enthusiastically, making her giggle despite her exhaustion.

"Slow your roll Martha Stewart," Blue quipped easily.

"Who the fuck is Martha Stewart?" Chuck asked in confusion.

"Oh yeah I keep forgetting about your time gaps. She's just this weird ass broad that teaches people how to be domestic trophy wife pains in the ass," She replied, taking another sip of blood and wincing.

"And I remind you of this bitch how?" He asked incredulously.

"I don't know. She probably invented Instacart," She said dismissively, leaning back and closing her eyes wearily.

"If you weren't so fragile right now, I might be insulted." Chuck mused, earning a soft smile.

"Oh please, I could still totally take you." Blue scoffed, smirking when his eyes shone with challenge as he easily stalked towards her up the bed.

She surprised both of them when she reached forward and pulled him towards her to close the gap between them, capturing his lips with her own in a fierce kiss that would have taken her breath away had she had any.

Chuck groaned needfully into the kiss, one hand making its way under her shirt while the other went to the nape of her neck as he ground his erection into her hip. Blue moaned softly when he nipped her full lips with his sharp fangs, making his way down her jaw and to her neck. She tugged his shirt upward until he helped her yank it the rest of the way off and her shirt and bra followed shortly after, her nails finding purchase on his newly exposed back as his nips turned into frantic bites and sucklings along her collar bone and shoulder.

"Chuck….Chuck _please,_" She whined, fumbling with the waistband of his sweatpants until she was able to yank them down and wrap her hand around him, stroking him with sensuous pulls of her velveteen hands.

"_Fuck….." _He hissed, the feel of her touch titillating as some sensation he couldn't name seemed to _click _between them and his senses heightened tenfold.

Blue's eyes shot open; the pupils dilated as she became suddenly very aware of his presence in her mind as they touched.

"_Do you feel?...Can you hear me?" _She thought as her fingers continued traveling down his length, thumbing the head at intervals as her lips, tongue, and teeth traversed his jaw and neck.

"_Yes," _His voice breathed in her mind monosyllabically; unable to coherently think any other answer across as he began experiencing a type of shared pleasure loop where both of their feelings, thoughts, and sensations surged back and forth between them.

Blue gasped unneeded breaths as he worked his way to her breasts, both of them moaning in ecstasy when he took a pert nipple into his mouth, kneading the perfect mounds of flesh with both of his hands. She fisted the sheets below them, the sound of tearing fabric rent the air as her body arched, her clit begging for friction and her walls clenching air as she began wordlessly urging him downward.

"_So impatient…." _He chided teasingly, his fangs ghosting over her ribs tantalizingly slow.

"Do you have a death wish?" Blue ground out aloud, making him laugh as she shoved at his shoulders gently, signaling him to get a move on or else.

"Depends on who's doing the killing," He rasped, and then he was there, filling her, completing her, making her feel alive again.

They both gasped and moaned in turn, the sensation of each other's pleasure both foreign and familiar, old and new, sacred and hedonistic in turns. Chuck growled low in his chest, a fierce possessiveness overtaking his senses as he felt her welcoming heat close around him like a glove.

"_MINE!" _The word exploded across his synapses as his hips rocketed forward, hands gripping her hard enough to bruise.

"_Yes, yours… yes, please…." _She breathed, her words causing the territorial animal within him to purr as he continued to fuck her desperately.

Chuck sank his fangs into her again, tasting her essence, groaning euphorically when her venom rushed against his tongue, crackling like fire along his taste buds like nectar.

Blue called out his name pleadingly, bucking off of the bed as she met him thrust for thrust, her slick folds consuming him.

"_I love you…God, I fucking love you…" _Chuck's mind-voice gasped in abandon, he was gone.

He was so far fucking gone when he was with her.

"_I love you too," _Blue replied, sitting up to meet his lips, still managing to keep him inside of her despite their height differential. She rocked with him frantically, her hands coming up to twine into his hair as she suckled his neck, fingers still somehow mindful of the staples at his temples.

He lost himself on the waves of their passion as their limbs entwined, each of them riding the cadence and rhythm of their maddening pace.

It was hours later that Chuck became aware that their room was pitch black and some annoying fucking sound was intruding upon his blissful slumber.

"Babe…. Your phone," He muttered foggily.

"Fuck the phone," She sighed sleepily, and he chuckled softly.

"I think it's Mort." He said, rolling off of her and snatching up her cell from the nightstand.

Blue took the phone from him and squinted her eyes open irritably.

"I'm on sick leave, remember?" She answered without preamble, causing Mort to pause before continuing.

"Hello to you too. I was calling to ask if you guys needed a ride over? For spades? Does any of this ring a bell?" Mort prompted hopefully.

Hitchcock let forth a loud caw from below and Blue nearly fell out of the bed in her haste to turn on the lights.

"Shit, what time is it? I'm sorry, I kinda passed out earlier." She said apologetically, throwing a pillow at Chuck when his shoulders shook in silent mirth.

"It's half-passed six, no worries. I'll come by at seven to get you guys, Okay? We'll all probably be plastered after, so bring some pj's for you guys to sleep in, you can stay in one of the guest rooms," He told her.

"Yeah, okay. See you soon," Blue hung up and flopped back down on the bed beside him, pulling the blanket over her head with a groan.

"You okay?" He asked, reaching passed her for the cigarettes and the ashtray.

"I think I have a sex hang over. If those even exist," She confessed, taking the cigarette he lit for her before lighting one for himself.

"I guess they do, if the sex is good." He snorted, laying down on his side to face her.

"Well, since we both passed the fuck out, I'll take it as a good sign that I don't suck in bed." She replied, running her hand against her side where her wound from the mirror was now an angry pink.

"Only in the ways that count," He teased with a wink, running his fingers against the scar gingerly.

"This still hurt? Was I a little too rough earlier?" He asked her, but she shook her head.

"No, earlier was perfect. I think I just slept kind of weird," She assured him, kissing his lips softly which quickly turned more urgent until he pulled away reluctantly.

"We need to be showered and dressed when our boss gets here," Chuck reminded her.

"Always the voice of reason," Blue sighed with a soft smile.

"One of us has to be," He replied, sliding out of bed, and grabbing a pair of boxer briefs before heading to the bathroom.

Blue trudged out of bed, choosing a simple black blouse and a navy blue embroidered satin wrap around skirt that fell to her ankles and grabbed a black bra and panties out of her dresser before joining him in the shower.

The hot water falling onto her tired muscles was bliss as she massaged cleansing conditioner into her scalp with a sigh.

Chuck was trying not to get distracted by the sight of her curves as the rivulets of water soaked her silky skin, the droplets clinging to her nipples and lush hips and thighs.

_Yeah, because I'd have to be fucking castrated not to pop a boner at the view….._ He shook his head and scrubbed his body as fast as he could before they didn't make it to Mort's at all.

_Voice of reason my ass…._ He quickly rinsed and climbed out, wrapping a towel around his waist. He brushed his teeth and his hair and stepped into his boxers just as Blue stepped out of the shower and followed suit, pausing to smile softly at the sight of his toothbrush next to hers.

She came out of the bathroom in just her bra and panties, toweling her long azure lochs dry as he was tying his shoes.

"Do you have to be such a cock tease before we leave the house?" He asked, kissing the back of her neck as she sat to do her makeup.

Blue smirked at him in the mirror as she applied her shadow and eyeliner with practiced strokes.

"It's not a tease when you know I'll fuck your brains out again later," She replied matter of factly, making him laugh raucously.

Chuck pocketed his keys and their smokes while Blue pulled her blouse on and tied her skirt around her and was stepping into black ankle boots when the doorbell rang.

"I got it," He replied, making his way down while she finished spritzing on some perfume and adjusting the bracelet he had given her that she never took off.

"Hey, how is she?" Mort asked as Chuck pulled his hoodie on.

"She's good, just a little beat. She should probably take a couple of pouches of blood with, just in case." He replied, unable to completely hide his smile when he saw her coming down the stairs.

"_You look beautiful," _His mind-voice spoke in her head and her cheeks reddened softly as she pulled her jacket down off of the coatrack.

Chuck took two pouches of blood from the fridge and handed them over to her to put in her purse.

"Thanks," She muttered, a tingle of self-consciousness making itself known through their bond.

Mort made his way back to the car, stopping himself short when he nearly opened her door for her out of habit and deferring to Chuck, who opened it for her instead.

_My two chivalrous boys…_ Blue thought as he shut the door behind her and got into the back seat.

"So, we uh, have six for spades tonight." He announced, looking uncharacteristically nervous as he pulled off.

"Six? Who else? Besides George and Annie?" Blue asked curiously.

"I uh, I have someone I want you to meet. A friend of mine," He said, and Chuck winced as he saw Blue visibly stiffen in the passenger seat; her posture becoming painfully aware, like a lioness that has stumbled upon the scent of a kill.

"Mort, other than George, you don't have any friends. Who is she?" She asked, her tone almost accusatory.

"Easy, easy. She's just someone I met at the concert," Mort replied, and if he thought that this information would put Blue at ease, he was horribly mistaken.

"At the concert? You mean the concert full of Vampires and Upirs? Are you fucking insane?!" She asked, whipping her seatbelt off so that she could face him properly.

"'Kish, it's okay. She's not bloodthirsty or rabid or something," Mort tried to calm her once more, but with a simple motion of her hand, the car jerked to a stop and a small dribble of blood oozed from her nose with the effort.

"You've lost your fucking mind." She said quietly as he pressed a tissue into her hand from the center console which she slowly placed against her nose.

"No, not really. Besides, this isn't serious. It's not like you and Chuck, it's just…." Mort faltered, at a loss for words.

"Have you slept with her yet? Has she bitten you? Is she an Upir or…?" The flood of questions going through her mind was enough to make her dizzy.

"She's a Vampire, and I think that you should meet her before-

"Before I tear her limb from limb? Mort, Vampires are dangerous! They don't have the same control over their thirst that Upirs do! Hell, they don't even show the same reserve or restraint that we do! They have one thought in their heads and its all consuming and that is the need for blood," She cut across him irritably.

"Take it easy Blue," Chuck interjected, handing her more Kleenex as her nose gushed anew.

"Look, she isn't like that. All I'm asking you to do is meet her," Mort pressed, laying a hand on Blue's shoulder, but she jerked out of his grasp with a glare.

"Fine. But if you just left her in your house with two humans and she killed them in the short amount of time it took to argue about this madness, you've no one but yourself to blame." She replied coldly, facing forward once more, and releasing the car back to his control.

Mort sighed and continued along the main path of the cemetery.

"Mel hasn't even arrived yet," He replied softly in an attempt to steer the conversation back to normal.

Blue remained silent and Chuck met Mort's eyes in the rearview mirror and mouthed _good timing_ sarcastically at him.

When they arrived, Mort parked, and she shot out of the car as though her seat were burning her with Chuck fast on her heels.

Blue looked around the perimeter of the house warily before she went in to be warmly greeted by whom Chuck assumed had to be Annie.

"How are you dear?" The slight blonde woman asked as she embraced Blue in a motherly fashion, followed closely by George; a burly dark-haired bespectacled man.

"I'm good, you guys, this is Chuck." She introduced, and to their credit, they stepped forward to shake his hand without a hitch.

"Nice to meet you," Annie said genuinely as Mort came in and tossed his keys on the antique side table in the hall.

"Yeah, you too. Sorry about the mess we left the other night by the way," He said, thinking about their trashed guest bedroom.

"Oh, don't worry about that. We're just relieved that you two got out safely and that we got our house back, that thing seemed like a nasty customer." George replied, as they made their way into the billiard room where Mort already had the bar lined with drinks and snacks.

A tingle of trepidation skirted along the periphery of Chuck's psyche and he turned to look at Blue, who was lagging at the back of the group.

"Oh, I have to show you what Jenna's done with her hair! You know how much she always looked up to you and now look! Isn't that a beautiful shade of teal?" Annie came around to show Blue a picture on her phone and to Chuck's surprise, Blue smiled a genuinely at the image.

"How is college treating her?" Blue asked, her posture still stiffened to alertness even though her attitude appeared more lax.

"Very good! She's so excited going into her Sophomore year, you really helped her ace her finals last term," Annie replied warmly.

"I think I just helped her get over some nerves is all," She said with a modest shrug.

"That reminds me, she sent these along for you from Poland. She said that she met a clan passing through town that was playing at the pub her and her friends go to on the weekends," Annie pulled a out a small box from her purse and handed it to Blue just as the doorbell rang.

"Hold that thought George," Mort said, halting their golfing chatter.

Blue opened the box with a slight tremor in her hands to reveal a pair of earrings that were made of intricately woven blue, black, and gold fabric with tiny black tassels dangling at the bottom.

"They're beautiful! I have to tell Jenna that she has good taste. I just hope they didn't overcharge her for them," She told Annie, slipping the earrings on and accentuating her already exotic features.

"Gorgeous! Let me just grab a pic for Jenna," Blue smiled and Annie snapped the pic just as Mort returned with a pale, raven-haired stranger.

"Guys, this is Imelda Mondragon. Imelda, these are my friends George and his Wife Annie," Imelda smiled and shook hands with them in turn as Blue inched slightly forward to put herself within tackling range if need be.

"And this is my Daughter Akishla Rainieri," Imelda blinked in surprise momentarily, but quickly composed herself and smiled softly.

"We've met," Blue did not offer her hand, leading Imelda to withdrawal her own quickly.

"Indeed. I'm sure that my Father would send you his regards," Imelda replied uneasily.

"I'm sure he would have. Malciber and I go way back, but not so far as all that. I did see him after the concert, remember?" Blue asked pointedly, referring to Tiffany's kidnapping and attempted murder.

"Yes, an unfortunate incident. Your friend made it home safely that night I hope?" Imelda asked, the smile plastered across her face not quite reaching her eyes.

"Alive and kicking," Blue deadpanned, the flash of hatred strong enough to ripple across their bond, and Chuck was wondering if the feeling were for Imelda or Tiffany or a mixture of both.

"And who is this?" Imelda caught sight of him nursing a whiskey on the rocks behind Blue, his stance outwardly relaxed, though inwardly he was ready to pounce if need be.

This bitch was making his skin crawl.

"This is my _Mate_, Charles." Blue replied, the tone of her voice as well as her body language made it quite clear that Imelda should not even _attempt_ to shake his hand.

"Ah, a pleasure." Imelda replied.

Chuck nodded once, his face expressionless while his insides squirmed, and his instincts hammered his brain.

"_I don't like her… I don't trust her…" _His mind-voice thought across to Blue and he felt rather than heard her acknowledgement and agreement.

"Well, can I get you a drink?" Mort offered in an effort to thaw the chill that had settled over the room.

"I'm sure you could," Blue muttered darkly, soft enough that only Imelda and Chuck could hear, and Imelda's eyes flashed irritably for a moment before she turned back to Mort.

"Tequila would be lovely," Imelda replied, taking a seat at the card table in the corner.

Mort bought her a double and seated himself beside her; the sight almost making Blue miss the treacherous Evie.

George and Annie joined them amiably enough, but the chatter fell on deaf ears as Blue sat across from Imelda, instinctually leaving Chuck to sit across from Annie which was furthest from her new nemesis.

Mort dealt the cards and the game began, Chuck taking control of their books because he knew that Blue was only paying attention to the game half-heartedly.

"We bet six," He said, taking a peek at Blue's hand.

Mort whistled low at that as he gazed at Imelda's hand.

"Bet four," He said, placing a casual arm around the back of Imelda's chair.

"_I'm gonna be sick," _Blue's mind-voice said, and Chuck cleared his throat as he took another hit of his whiskey.

"_Ditto Babe," _He agreed, tossing a card down and leaving an opening for her to make their first book.

"Akishla?" Mort said as though he had asked her something.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"I was asking if you worked at the cemetery too?" Imelda repeated, mirth dancing in her eyes as she realized that she had caught Blue unawares.

"Yes." Blue replied, making their first book and handing it off to Chuck for safekeeping.

Imelda looked at her as though willing her to elaborate, but Blue asked Annie something about acquiring new paintings; which prompted Annie to go off on a long and excitable tangent about some recent finds.

Apparently, she was an art dealer.

Chuck observed that Imelda simmered just below the surface but concealed it valiantly with questions about Annie's business; which appeared to let Blue off of the hook.

Blue and Chuck won the first two hands, while George and Annie took the next three before they took a break for dinner and more drinks.

Imelda declined food of course, but she had several more shots of tequila as she and Mort seemed to almost ignore the rest of the present company and focus on conversing with one another at one end of Mort's lavish dining room table.

Blue's gut twisted as she observed the two of them together.

This was the table that Mort shared his first meal with his wife at, the table that his children gathered around with their parents, this was the table she and Mort had eaten at when he had told her about his crippling guilt that he had cursed them all to painful deaths and that he was stuck here now alone until she had come into his life. Mort had introduced her as _his Daughter; _changing their normal rouse that she was his Niece, but why?

"I need to get some air," She said to Chuck suddenly, leaving her food practically untouched.

He nodded, leaving his plate in much the same way as he followed her out of the house and down the steps.

"I've seen a lot of weird shit, but I think this makes my top ten. He's completely unaware of anything else around him like he's in a fuckin trance. I don't come across that whipped, do I?" He asked her, making her chortle despite her mood.

"No, definitely not. I wouldn't neuter you like that," Blue assured him with a shake of her head.

"I don't even think he realized that we left," He sighed as she lead him around to the back of the mansion and into a moonlit garden complete with an ornate bronze fountain and little pathways leading left and right; but at the center of it all were five headstones that looked ancient but well preserved.

Blue made her way to the graves, kneeling down in shock and dismay when she saw the withered and dried bouquet of flowers and the newly sprouted dandelions.

"Oh my God," She sobbed softly in disbelief.

"What is it?" Chuck asked as she reached out and took the desiccated roses in hand.

"Chuck, this is serious! There's something wrong with him. He never, _ever _lets their flowers go like this! He has always replaced them weekly and he is constantly weeding here and tending the grass, he never would let it get like this! Never!" She said in a panicked whisper, her hands shaking as she placed the dead flowers back in their marble vase.

"Maybe he's just…. Taking a break? I mean, that's pretty depressing to do every week for a few centuries right?" He offered, but the measure of doubt in his voice did nothing to reassure her.

Blue shook her head and stood, looking over the other headstones and finding similar results.

"What are we gonna do? Can we just dust the bitch? Like Van Helsing?" He asked uncertainly, but she narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"It's more complicated than that I think, but I need to check it out first to figure out what it is." She replied softly.

"Wha-

"There you are! I was wondering where you guys wandered off to, we're about to deal another hand." Mort said, coming down the path and smiling obliviously.

Blue turned towards him, swiping the tears from her cheeks quickly and stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"Everything okay?" He asked, looking between them.

"I don't know Mort, you tell me." She replied, gesturing to Abbey Beecher's headstone behind her.

Mort looked behind her at his family's resting place with confusion before meeting her eyes once more.

"What is it?" He asked with a frown.

"What do you mean 'what is it', Mort wake up!" She said incredulously, searching his eyes.

"Listen 'Kish, I know that you're stressed out-

"This isn't about me! This is about you for a change," She cut across him, her hands balling into fists inside of her pockets.

"Me? I'm fine! Look, I know that you don't really like Imelda but if you just spend a little time with her-

"I'm not spending _any _time with that bitch! Mort, where are their flowers? What happened?!" Blue reached out and shook him gently by the shoulders as though desperate to wake him from a trance, but Mort shook her off and took a few steps back.

"You know, some times you really get on my nerves Akishla. Look at you; always the sad, pathetic, bleeding little heart. Always mourning for your Father, always depressed and suicidal. Did you ever think that people move on? I mean, shit, I don't want to end up like you! You know what I think? I think that your Father killed himself to get _away from you; _and if you aren't careful, Charlie here will follow suit." He said icily, his eyes distant and cold.

Blue stood there stunned, her eyes wide and her body trembling as his cruel words registered.

"You sonovabitch!" Chuck lunged into the air, both the force of his anger and Mort's momentary surprise taking them both off kilter and they landed in a heap, Chuck's upir strength getting the better of him as he punched, kicked, and finally _bit _his way blindly atop his shocked opponent.

"Chuck stop!" Blue shouted, attempting to pull the two apart by hand and failing as Chuck lashed out again and tore a sizable chunk of flesh from Mort's collarbone and shoulder, causing blood to gush black in the moonlight and onto the grass below them.

"Stop, stop, stop!" She cried, grabbing ahold of Chuck's hoodie and one of his flailing arms and transporting them back to their house so fast that her head spun with the effort.

They landed on the kitchen floor with a bang and untangled from each other; Hitchcock awakening with a loud squawk as Chuck roared with rage like an infuriated lion.


	19. Chapter 19: AWOL

**Chapter 19:**

Chuck was no stranger to anger, frustration, hate, rage, or any combination of those emotions; but feeling them all times ten while seeing red was a new sensation completely and being removed from Mort's presence seemed to do little to quell any of it. He could still taste his blood, still smell his scent, and was experiencing an unquenched thirst that wrangled several animalistic growls from deep within his chest. He was dimly aware somewhere in the back of his brain that they had returned home, that the threat to his Mate had been removed; the only thing that helped to ground him once more was the sight of her sitting on the kitchen floor with her back to the fridge, her knees drawn up to her chest, long azure hair curtaining her face.

Hitchcock was cawing in alarm, Chuck's inhuman growls alerting him to a danger that he could not see but could sense as he flapped his wings anxiously; milky eyes wide in the semi-darkness.

Instinctually, Blue knew that there wasn't much she could do to bring her Mate back to himself once an angered frenzy of this type began, but she also knew that she had to try.

She gathered herself up as much as she could and rose from her place on the floor, moving towards him in the dark; pressing her thumbnail into the flesh just below her collarbone until she drew blood.

The scent of it spiked the air and his head whipped around at once, glowering red eyes meeting her gaze and slowly levelling until they were inches apart. Chuck closed the distance between them and was in her arms almost before she had registered that he had moved at all, but to her surprise he had not sunk his fangs into her; but was busily inhaling her scent and peppering her neck with kisses.

He laved his tongue over the cut she had made, healing it with his venom-laced saliva and pressed his forehead into her chest; breathing her in slowly until his eyes returned to their natural steely blue hue and he could think clearly again. Several minutes passed this way before he spoke.

"Blue… are you okay?" He muttered, finally lifting his head to meet her eyes once more.

"I'm fine," She replied, running her fingers through his hair as Hitchcock finally quieted in his cage at the sound of her voice; his feathered head weaving this way and that as he listened.

"What the fuck happened to Mort?" He asked, voicing the question that had been swirling in her head as well.

"You have to know that that wasn't him, right?" Blue asked as he realized belatedly that he was in her lap, though he felt too comfortable and boneless there to move.

The berserker rage seemed to have taken a lot out of him after all as he felt the familiar thirst settle upon him again. Blue nudged him out of her embrace knowingly and went to the fridge to retrieve blood for them both.

"You were saying something about contacting Victor before I tore Mort a new asshole?" Chuck prompted.

Blue nodded as she opened Hitchcock's cage and stroked his feathers to calm him before removing his food dish and filling it with some fruit and veggie slices from the fridge and returning it to him where he began to tuck in happily, ignoring his hosts for the time being.

"He'll be in Europe right now with the other members of his Coven, but I can recall him if need be." She replied with a sigh.

"Recall him? What, like a soldier or operative or something?" Chuck asked curiously.

"Not exactly….. more like a member of council. Each Coven has their own council, and all of the Coven councils convene when a serious breach of Coven law has occurred; this gathering is overseen by the Leaders of each council, They're known as The Brethren. This situation that Imelda has created would be deemed serious enough; Mort is still considered Human despite his special circumstances, not to mention the fact that she could have exposed her kind to George and Annie," Blue explained, and his heart gave an involuntary squeeze when he saw how exhausted she looked.

"We should get you into bed after you drink that," He intimated as she sipped the nourishing blood and he practically inhaled his own.

Blue messaged Victor a condensed version of the current problem they faced, promising to keep an eye on Imelda as best as she could while awaiting her death day, as well as trying to watch over Mort.

Blue's phone began ringing immediately and she fought the urge to groan softly; all she wanted to do was curl up and sleep.

She answered, putting the phone on speaker.

"My Mate is here with me and he'll need to be kept abreast of everything that's going on because I'm sure this isn't going to be resolved before I die," said Blue without preamble, causing Chuck to flinch at the thought that he was going to lose her; even temporarily.

"Yes your Grace, I thought as much. Good evening Charles," Victor greeted, sounding much more congenial than when they had spoken last on the evening of the concert catastrophe.

Chuck paused with a frown upon realizing that Victor had just addressed Blue as 'Your Grace'. The title was not a facetious one apparently either….

"Good evening," Chuck replied, looking between Blue and the phone with a question in his eyes.

"_I'll explain, I just hope that it doesn't change the way you think about me." _Blue thought across their link quickly.

"It's more than obvious that Imelda will have to be apprehended carefully because of the nature of the control she appears to be exuding over Mr. Beecher; even with his special circumstances, irreparable damage could be done. Both physically and mentally," Victor said gravely, but Chuck scoffed and rolled his eyes.

He could give a shit less about Mort right now.

"Just get her the hell off the streets! He's the one that took a chance with this crazy broad, if his brains get scrambled over this shit, then whose fault is it? I don't want her coming after Akishla when she's vulnerable, because lemme tell you, if she does try anything I'll fuck her up good at the very least; probably dust her ass if I get a chance to. Nobody threatens my girl without consequences, I could give two fucks less about Mort," Chuck intervened, Blue's eyes widening at his words and the feeling behind them; which translated to warmth and a fierce protectiveness through their bond.

If Chuck was surprised at Victor's earlier civility towards him, then it was nothing compared to his reply.

"Yes, I quite agree with you of course. The two of you are the main focus of The Brethren right now, and always will be. I am merely stating that we will take caution with Mr. Beecher due to his importance to Lady Akishla," Victor demurred, causing Chuck to frown curiously, looking to Blue once more questioningly.

"Let me know when the guards arrive at Mort's house, I've already taken care of getting George and Annie out of there. It just makes me sick that Imelda is probably feeding from Mort as we speak and there's nothing we can do about it yet until we find the Talisman and destroy it properly." Blue sighed, her eyes alight with a mixture of frustration and worry.

"They are already in place as we speak; the Rhiannon Coven were the closest as you know, with their territory being in Chicago." Victor assured her, which seemed to lay some of her anxiety to rest as her shoulders sagged in relief.

"Good. I need to get some rest, but I want to be kept informed of any significant changes as soon as they occur." Blue said, a tone in her voice that brooked no argument.

"Of course Your Grace," He replied, hanging up and leaving Chuck with a million questions.

"Okay, lemme explain-

"No, get to bed. You look dead on your feet babe; it can wait until morning." He assured her, shaking his head.

Blue sighed in annoyance then.

"I'm fine! I'm just tired and-

Chuck moved forward with lightening speed and kissed her to quiet her.

"It's okay," He murmured, resting his forehead against hers in a moment of tenderness that made her heart melt; the feeling radiating through their link.

"I love you too," He replied, brushing her hair from her face, and nodded to her pile of pillows.

Blue smiled softly as he carefully undressed her, placing soft kisses and nips onto her newly revealed skin as her blouse, skirt, and underthings were removed piece by piece with an almost reverence in his movements.

When she was completely nude, Chuck removed his clothes and lay beside her in his boxer briefs, sighing peacefully when she spooned against him; pulling him close as was their usual sleep position.

It seemed like mere moments later that a panicked knocking could be heard at the front door, causing her to bolt upright and squint at her phone in confusion.

It was just passed ten in the morning.

"Somebody has a fuckin death wish," Chuck groaned beside her.

"Agreed," She intoned, pulling on a robe hastily as she made her way to the stairs beyond their room.

"Stay here, okay?" She called over her shoulder, but Chuck was already poised at the top of the steps behind her with a knife in hand.

"Nice Zero to Chuck Norris there babe," She said dryly, making him smirk.

Blue pulled open the door to reveal a very harassed-looking Carlos.

"Hola Senora Rainieri, Senor Ray." He greeted, looking passed her shoulder to Chuck.

"Oh hey, what is it?" Chuck asked, clicking the blade shut and pocketing it in the pair of sweatpants that he had hastily yanked on.

Carlos looked to Blue and began speaking rapid-fire Spanish, looking between the two of them with trepidation as he explained whatever the hell had happened to a wide-eyed Blue.

When he had finished, she began speaking to him calmly in Spanish in a reassuring way until he nodded towards Chuck as well, explaining something else in a half-panicked way; but Blue shook her head and said something else in exasperation before waving him off in a pacifying manner.

Carlos sighed, shook his head, and looked at Blue as though he were awaiting further instruction, which she gave; her Spanish so rapid that Chuck would have sworn it was her native language if he hadn't known better.

Seemingly satisfied, Carlos nodded, giving Chuck a respectful wave before heading back to his car and pulling off.

"What the hell was all that about?" He asked curiously when he saw the look on her face as she shut the door and carded her hands through her hair.

Blue was silent for a moment, staring out the window; but Chuck could sense powerful pangs of both worry and anger coming through their bond in waves.

"What happened Babe?" He asked, concerned.

"Mort. He's fucking AWOL! Carlos and his guys are freaking the fuck out about it because apparently the office phone is ringing off the hook and there's a family waiting there to pick up the cremains of a relative and I don't even know who it is they're picking up or how much Mort has or has not been doing; I mean, the body may or may not have been fucking cremated! Not to mention that we had the police here last night because they caught some kids hopping the wall like they do around every fucking Halloween and they spray painted a headstone," She said curtly, rushing passed him to change.

"Fuck," Chuck surmised, following her back to their room.

"Can you call Victor on my phone please? He's in my contacts," She asked, unceremoniously throwing open her closet and skimming all the way to the back to find some business attire.

"Sure," He said, watching as she plucked down a silver garment bag and ripped off her robe, tossing it away.

Victor answered on the second ring and Chuck swore he caught Blue's eyes flashing red.

"Where's Mort? Where are the guards who are supposed to be tailing him?" She demanded impatiently, as she dressed in record timing.

"They're following him as we speak; he's loaded a coffin into the back of a hearse and is heading towards the city Your Grace, they're assuming Imelda is inside of it of course." Victor replied as she marched over to her vanity, staring into the mirror with concentration as her hair slowly returned to its natural black.

Another glamour of course.

"You need to keep us posted on every single detail, understand? I want to know where he is every step of the way and what he's doing! I don't care if a guard needs to hide on the ceiling of the room he's in!" She snapped, hanging up the phone and ramming it into the pocket of her dove gray suit jacket.

"Blue, how are you getting there? I don't want you behind the wheel! You could crash for fuck's sake! Why didn't you make Carlos wait to give you a ride over at least?!" He exclaimed, following her down the stairs where she began searching her purse for her keys.

Her hands were shaking.

She breathed a sigh and sat down on the couch, dumping the entire contents of her bag onto the coffee table until she took the keys into her hands and swallowed anxiously.

"Carlos and his crew have been patrolling all night and they're exhausted! And since I need them for tonight, I sent them all home to rest. They're human, and if they're too tired, they aren't alert and they can make mistakes. I can't afford anything else to go wrong here; I am responsible for this place! All of it!" She said in exasperation.

"Blue, this is a cemetery full of a bunch of fucking dead people. You have to know that your safety is more important than this," He argued as she stood shakily and marched into the kitchen with Chuck hot on her heels.

She slammed open a few cabinets in search of something before locating her thermos and yanking it down, hissing in pain when she stretched her ever-worsening wrist injuries where her scarring was becoming darker and far more prominent than he had ever seen it before.

She grabbed an energy drink from the pantry and 2 packs of blood from the fridge, handing one to him wordlessly before pouring the energy drink and the blood in the thermos and stirring, downing half of it in one go.

"I need your help," She said, swallowing thickly and avoiding his gaze.

"Sure, anything." He agreed with a shrug, but she shook her head and sighed.

"Don't agree so quickly, okay?" She said, laughing tremulously.

Chuck rolled his eyes and smirked before taking her hand in his own.

"I mean it. Anything, just tell me what to do." He said levelly.

Blue motioned for him to sit down for a moment and she took the seat beside him, their chairs facing one another.

"I'm in between a rock and a really hard place, as you may have guessed already. I would never, _ever _ask you to do something like this if I wasn't." She said tensely, to which he shrugged.

"Alright, who am I killing?" He asked, which made her laugh, but she stopped abruptly when she realized he was serious.

"I wish this was that simple, but its not." She murmured.

"Will you just tell me already?! It can't be that bad," He said, his patience waning.

He loved her, but he hated when she felt like she couldn't just come to him and talk to him without all the preamble and nervousness.

"Not to mention that we're short on time here," He said when he saw her hesitate again.

"You know how I do the glamours? Like this boring ass black hair?" She asked, to which he nodded.

"And you know how I do something at the drive-thru's so you kinda blend in and nobody gives you a second look?" She asked, and he nodded; motioning with his hand so she would get on with it.

"If I show you something, keep in mind that I can only hold the Glamour for a few minutes at best and it could never be permanent. Of all the things I can do for you on a permanent basis; this could never be one of them, the energy drain is just too great even when I'm at one hundred percent. This glamour is too large and intricate." She murmured apologetically, looking genuinely disappointed in her own extraordinary abilities.

"Blue, I don't care about any of that. I made peace with this body a long time ago; I told you that." He assured her.

She nodded nervously, popping open a portable mirror on one of her keychains and enlarging it magically before she took a deep breath and turned it towards him wordlessly.

"Holy shit!" He gasped, leaping to his feet involuntarily and staring at his reflection.

He looked exactly as he had before he had died and transferred his soul.

The eyes, his face, his long shoulder length dark chestnut hair, even the customary suit he always wore.

"I hope I got the clothes right? I'm kinda going off mugshots and the crime scene photos from the toy store," Blue confessed anxiously, biting her bottom lip as was her habit when something made her nervous or uncertain.

Chuck pulled his eyes away from his borrowed reflection.

"It's perfect, but we don't have a lot of time and this is gonna drain the hell out of you as it is. I'm assuming you want me to drive and that's why I look like this?" He asked her, signature smirk still familiar even in his former body.

"Yeah, If you wouldn't mind." She sighed, feeling woozy already and trying to hide it. Chuck opened the fridge and removed several blood pouches and took the rest of the energy drinks from the pantry and stuffed them in a grocery tote.

"Let's get you to the office then," He said, glad of his borrowed height as she swayed when she stood, and he caught her now smaller frame easily.

She was like a little doll from his old height as he guided her out to Bessie and helped her into the passenger seat.

"You okay?" He asked as they pulled off onto the main road.

Blue nodded, but she looked as though she were going to be sick any moment now.

Thankfully, the main office was only five minutes from the small house they shared and there were little posts along the road that gave him easy directions. When they parked, Chuck saw a car parked in the visitors parking that must have belonged to the mystery cremains family.

"I can only hold it for a little longer, so when we get out go around to the side door and use the old fashioned gold key to get it. It'll let you into the back of the file room, just wait for me there okay?" She asked and he nodded as they got out in unison and he walked briskly to the door she had indicated while she went through the front.

"Good morning, I apologize for keeping you waiting! My name is Akishla Rainieri and I'll be assisting you today; I understand that you're here for your loved ones cremains?" She asked the couple that was sitting in the waiting area.

"Oh, it's no problem at all. We're here for Emily Jefferson's urn, I am- was- her Sister Margaret," The woman said standing and shaking Blue's hand.

"I understand. Let me just take a look in the back and I'll be right with you; Please feel free to help yourself to the Keurig or the mini-fridge," She replied, inwardly praying that Mort had actually cremated the decedent in question.

Mort's office was tidy and spotless as always when Blue entered and shut the door behind her. A pang of sadness and worry hit her the moment she was alone in his space, the familiar scent of his cologne and the coffee he always drank an almost overwhelming reminder of his absence.

She made her way behind his desk and moved his leather wingback chair, flipping up a hidden portion of the carpet under his desk to retrieve the set of spare keys that he kept hidden there just in case.

"Yeah, just in case a fucking Vampire turns you into a zombie sex slave and you go AWOL and leave all the work to me." Blue muttered under her breath with an irritable sigh, walking over to the ornate curio cabinet and unlocking it.

"Please be in here Emily," She murmured, seeing several urns that had yet to be retrieved by their relatives and gingerly picking them up and turning them over to read the label underneath.

Blue sighed in relief when the fifth urn she picked up read Jefferson, Emily Diana on the bottom. She placed it on Mort's desk and re-locked the cabinet with a sigh of relief before placing the urn in a velvet-lined box and carrying it back out to the family.

"I'm so sorry for your loss! Were you in need of any information on final interment or scatter sites? We have some pamphlets if you'd like to take them with you to look over," She said softly as Chuck watched her from the shadows; seeing this side of her was definitely new.

"Thank you, that would be very helpful." Margaret sniffed.

Blue offered her some Kleenex and a few pamphlets that she quickly gathered from a nearby desk.

"I've included our card here too. Please don't hesitate to call us with any questions, we're always here to help." She said as she walked them out to their car, waiting until they drove off before she returned inside, rubbing the irritation from the sun out of her eyes and sighing in relief until the phone in Mort's office rang; causing her to make a mad dash for it before it could go to voicemail.

Chuck made sure the coast was clear just to be safe before running into Mort's office behind her and partially shutting the door seating himself on the sofa behind it to keep out of view.

"Thank you for calling Beecher Glen Cemetery, how can I help you?" She answered, holding her temple, and shutting her eyes as she listened to the call.

Chuck busied himself making her another blood and energy drink cocktail in her thermos while she gave the customer on the phone some quotes for a few different caskets.

The phone barely stopped after that; Blue logging into the cemetery profile from Mort's desktop to answer the various questions from customers and even a few vendors that Mort contracted for various supplies. A few hours into it and she was drained; she had given up on keeping the black hair glamour as soon as the Jefferson's had left, but even the absence of that strain wasn't doing her much good.

By 3pm, she was pale and shaken and could barely sit upright for the exhaustion that was taking hold of her; and Chuck wanted to get his hands on Mort so badly for putting her through all of this now of all times that he could barely see straight.

When she wretched into the trash can at the desk unexpectedly, he ran to the bathroom the wet a few paper towels, returning to help her over to the couch and press a cool towel to her forehead and lay her back against the cushions in an attempt to quell her nausea.

"Mort's gonna kill me if I puke over here," She muttered miserably, causing Chuck to scoff.

"Fuck him! You wouldn't even be here having to do all of this if he could keep it in his fuckin pants!" He growled as she collapsed further back into the cushions.

He felt powerless as she lay there motionless and so pale that she was beginning to look like a sculpture.

"Blue, you need to drink a little from me. It might help you," He said, at a loss as to how else to help her.

"Chuck, no offense but I think I'll puke on you if I even try. I feel like- oh fuck all, never mind!" She caught herself, giving a mirthless laugh at what she almost vocalized, but the joke was lost on him.

"You feel like shit, Lets leave it at that." He said, caressing her cheek as she closed her eyes once more.

"Sorry about all of this; I know that you didn't sign up for it," She muttered weakly, as though she were barely clinging to consciousness.

"Will you stop apologizing? Especially about shit that you can't even control," He shushed her.

Blue's phone pinged and Chuck retrieved it from Mort's desk, reading the now hourly check in from Victor.

"No change in Mort's location," He shrugged carelessly, handing her the phone.

"Call the answering service and get these damn calls transferred over until tomorrow. You can't do anymore today, you're exhausted Babe," He said as she struggled to sit up, but he gently lay her back.

"It's not even four yet," She croaked, struggling to rise when the phone rang again.

"Lay down! Why the fuck are you so stubborn?!" He hissed, picking up the call and answering it.

Blue's eyes widened in a panic, but when he answered professionally and was even able to quote cremation costs accurately from the list she had pulled out of Mort's files earlier, she visibly relaxed.

"You're hired," She joked softly when he hung up and returned to her side.

"Answering service and then home and bed," He persisted, handing her her phone again.

Blue's shoulders sagged as she complied, knowing that he was right, and she needed rest badly.

She called the answering service and transferred all calls to them until tomorrow, suppressing a pang of guilt that she couldn't stay until five.

"Now, take a drink so we can get you home." Chuck said, pulling at his collar to expose his neck and shoulder to her.

She complied bonelessly, her fangs sinking into him neatly as he cradled her there; the intimacy of the moment and the emotions that kaleidescoped back and forth over their bond palpable as they both reclined on the couch.

Blue was able to hold the glamour in place for him long enough for him to drive them back home and help her into the house, but she collapsed halfway up the stairs to their room and had to rest a moment before arduously continuing; so exhausted by the time she made it to the bed that she curled up on her side fully clothed. She swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut as a new wave of pain ripped through both of her wrists and they throbbed anew as she hissed in pain.

Chuck took her hand in his own gingerly and peeked under the sleeve of her suit jacket.

The scars were raised and swollen into two long, jagged, and deep purple lines surrounded by angry redness and varying shades of bruises. He helped her undress slowly, pausing patiently when she needed to lay back for a moment before continuing. She balked when he removed the bracelet he had given her and placed it on the nightstand, but he shushed her wordlessly and she lay back once more.

He pulled out the much-used and abused medical kit and pulled out some ace bandages and cracked two small ice packs, partially wrapping her wrists before placing the ice packs against the underside of them and securing them in place with the remaining length of the wrap. Chuck tugged the blanket over her then as she trembled with the effort of holding in her pain as much as she could.

"You should leave….I don't want you to see me like this," She sobbed, but Chuck simply repacked the med kit and put it to the side before stroking her forehead to calm her as she squeezed her eyes shut again.

"I'm assuming pain medication isn't going to help?" He asked but she shook her head.

"I wouldn't be able to suffer for what I did then, would I?" Blue asked shakily.

"Is the ice helping some?" He asked, seeing some of the tension in her shoulders and back relax slightly.

"Yeah…. A little….." She breathed, swallowing thickly, and struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Go to sleep Babe, don't fight it." He murmured, climbing in beside her and trying to contain the whirlwind of sadness, anger, and helplessness spinning inside of him.

As he lay there stroking her hair to soothe her he couldn't help but feel a certain amount of rage and incredulity at the universe in general. Out of all the scumbags and assholes traversing their way across the planet, the powers at be had zeroed in on Blue and it wasn't fucking fair; she was a good person, better than anyone else he had ever had in his life.

His Mate's phone pinged again and Chuck plucked it from the nightstand, frowning at the screen when he saw Victor report that Imelda had awakened and fed from Mort once again while he sat in a daze; both of them holed up in a little town house in the Gold Coast neighborhood close to downtown Chicago.

Chuck let Victor know that Blue was resting, but he was keeping an eye on Mort's situation for her sake. He was so pissed at Mort that he couldn't even verbalize it and he doubted very much that things would ever be the same between them. Chuck had never been a forgiving person; even when he had been human if you had fucked him over once the trust was gone and that was that.

When his own phone pinged in his pocket he startled for a moment, not expecting it to go off since the only two people who normally texted him at all were currently indisposed.

He fiddled with the touchscreen on it for a moment before Hitchcock began cawing loudly and beating his wings in his cage; it was the Instacart delivery that he had ordered yesterday and nearly forgotten about.

When he made his way downstairs, he could see Hitchcock in his large cage at the kitchen window, his sightless eyes staring and head bobbing at the delivery guy who was placing the bags on the porch.

"Alright Lassie, I got it! Calm the fuck down," He said as Hitchcock cawed again and hit his wing at the bars in irritation; he was actually letting them know that someone was at the door.

"Why is our fucking bird a dog?" Chuck muttered, waiting until the delivery guy pulled off before opening the door to get their stuff.

As he put everything away and fed Hitchcock, he was surprised at how different the house felt in the absence of Blue and their usual banter. He had spent his life as a loner for the majority of the time, only dealing with people when it was absolutely necessary; even Tiffany had gotten used to him fucking her and leaving in the middle of the night, unable to lay next to her even until morning for the antsy feeling creeping under his skin in her presence.

Now, as Blue lay slowly dying upstairs and he was powerless to stop it, he wondered how he was going to cope without her; even temporarily.


	20. Chapter 20: Losing Time

**Chapter 20: Losing Time**

Chuck had let Hitchcock out of his cage to stretch his legs a bit, but the bird seemed determined to stay as close to him as possible as he took Blue a pouch of blood; his nervousness that she hadn't moved an inch since she had collapsed into bed hours previously getting the better of him.

When he entered their bedroom, not much had changed as he observed her in the same position as she had been before, which gave him some pause.

"Blue? Babe? Come on, wake up for a minute." He shook her shoulder gently at first, then a bit more forcefully when he hadn't received any response; she was ice cold under his touch.

It took several more shakes and a loud caw from Hitchcock before her puffy eyes fluttered open, squinting into the muted light of the room and focusing blearily on her Mate and their new pet.

"God, if the house is on fire, go ahead and save yourselves." She groaned, wincing when she rubbed her eyes and her wrists gave a sharp twinge of pain.

"You need to drink this, and I need to change those ice packs out," Chuck informed her as she scooted into a sitting position with effort.

Blue managed a few sips from the metal straw, but he could tell that the experience was less than appealing for her.

"Has Victor texted?" Blue asked, glancing around for her phone and looking relieved when he pulled it from his pocket.

"He's been in touch every hour or less, but other than fucking and feeding there's been no changes." He replied with a shrug as she visibly shuddered at the thought.

"If she tries changing him, I'll dust her ass for sure; Brethren or no Brethren." She gritted, the pain in her wrists getting the better of her for a moment.

Seeing her hurting put Chuck in action; he began to unwind her bandages carefully, removing the spent icepacks and discarding them.

"So enlighten me, who are these Brethren people to you and why is Victor all chummy to me all of a sudden?" He asked in an effort to distract her from the pain he was inadvertently causing her.

"Oh I set his ass straight about the way he treat you and Mort on the night of the concert a while back, so he won't be repeating that mistake anytime soon." She assured him, wincing, and drawing her hand away when he got the last of the ace wrap off of it.

"Sorry," He mumbled, both hating to hurt her and feeling awkward apologizing for causing someone pain for a change.

"It's fine. Pain helps me focus," Blue murmured, taking a deep breath and mentally urging herself to keep still.

"Nobody needs to focus this much. Besides, you need to relax as much as you can and conserve your energy." Chuck replied as he cracked two new ice packs and began wrapping her wrists anew.

"A few decades back when I first became an Upir, Victor came looking for me. He said that his gifts lead him to me, but I don't believe that for a second. I just don't think that he's allowed to tell me the truth. Anyhow, he came here one night while I was prepping a body for a visitation and funeral for the following day; at first I thought that a need for blood had drawn him here. Vampires are so much more impatient than Upirs when it comes to the need to feed; they have a nearly uncontrollable thirst that has to be quenched at any cost, whereas our kind have more patience and control over our needs. He was in a panic and looked like shit, he had been traveling for weeks in a roundabout route here in an effort to avoid his own kind; there was an all out war going on that I was blissfully unaware of until his appearance, and to be honest with you I wasn't all that keen to help his plight." She sighed, laying back against the pillows once more when he finished with her wrists and closing her eyes for a moment as the cooling effect of the icepacks took the edge off of her pain.

"You not wanting to save the world? I don't believe it for a second," Chuck scoffed, causing Blue to snort derisively.

"I'm no Mother-fucking-Theresa Chuck. You above all people should know that," She murmured as though he was privy to some darkness about her that was unmentionable.

Chuck frowned in confusion and shook his head, busying himself with sorting some items in the med kit.

"You're talking to _The Lakeshore Strangler _ya know? I've probably killed more people than you've met between my time as a human and my time as a fucking doll." He reminded her pointedly, which made her laugh in spite of herself.

"It's not a contest, you pretentious ass." She balked, wanting to kiss him or run her hands through his hair in these moments when their banter synced so perfectly.

"Good thing too because you'd definitely _lose._" He assured her, dodging the throw pillow she lobbed at him easily.

"Can you ever stop pretending to be one-hundred-percent asshole? You know that you aren't!" Blue said, finally losing the battle with herself and reaching out to stroke her fingers along the permanent stitches across the back of his hand.

"Nah, I'm a head and arms and legs and all that anatomical goodness too." He replied with a wink, making her shoulders shake with laughter as he scooted closer to her.

Hitchcock turned his head this way and that, listening to their conversation as he hopped onto the windowsill and nestled down onto it while grooming his feathers.

"So _anyways, _Victor brings this stupid war to my cozy and quiet doorstep and I'm still trying to figure out what the hell all of my Upir abilities are now that I'm all dead-adjacent; I was discovering new things every other day or so, and all of my special abilities that I had had while I was living had not only remained, they had intensified in ways that I was trying to cope with. This was like a whole new world that I had stumbled into, and I was trying to find my footing as it was without all of this drama going on. I basically told Victor to kick rocks because I had enough problems of my own at the moment, thank you very much. Amazingly, he left immediately; albeit with a reluctant disappointment, but the fact that he just seemed to obey without argument or question bothered me, especially when he had made his situation sound so desperate only moments before I had shut him down. That behavior stuck in my mind and then the body count started up all around us, and all of a sudden Mort and I are thrown into the midst of a shitstorm that we have to both cover up quick and find the source of fast. Vamps were bleeding humans dry from Chicago to New York and they were chucking bodies into rivers, alleys, parks, and you guessed it; fucking cemeteries. The press was having a goddamned field day and the deaths and disappearances of folks were getting hard to ignore or explain away. My new job as nighttime patrol had me finding cadavers left, right, and center! Mort and I had began cremating the poor fucks and scattering the ashes in the memorial gardens, but the body count was getting up there pretty quickly and it was kind of getting like a concentration camp here. We were keeping the crematory running 24/7 and our little morgue here was full to bursting it was so over-occupied. Obviously, something had to freaking give," She recalled, rolling her eyes.

"Sounds like a fuckin' headache," Chuck replied, wincing at the thought.

"Yeah, poor Mort was going apoplectic at the time." Blue sighed, her heart suddenly aching anew as she recalled the cruelty of the words he had spoken to her when he wasn't himself.

Knowing that he was being manipulated and controlled only dulled the pain a fraction for her as she recalled vividly the coldness in his eyes and his voice.

"Yeah, my fuckin' heart bleeds for the bastard." Chuck dead panned.

"You shouldn't hate him too much, most of this shit isn't his fault." She reiterated once more, to which his lips seemed to seal in a flat line as though he were fighting back the tirade he wanted to spew forth at her for being so forgiving.

"So….. cemetery overflowing with bodies that aren't supposed to be here," He prompted her to continue as he busied himself lighting a cigarette and offering her the pack and her lighter.

Blue took the pack and the lighter, putting a cigarette between her full lips but having difficulty with the lighter until Chuck took it from her and helped her light it.

"Ever the gentleman," She murmured with a wink around her first drag.

"When I'm not being an asshole, sure." He shrugged, placing the ashtray between them as she gave him an exasperated look.

"So, the media and the cops are baffled shitless. The Vamps weren't bothering to even try to disguise the cause of death for these poor fuckers, but ya know humans will remain in ignorant denial if something doesn't quite fit right in their little cookie-cutter existence, so they were still going down avenues of some kind of virus or fever of unknown origin, but they couldn't explain away the numerous double puncture marks into main arteries or the complete absence of blood and in some cases the evisceration of the organs due to a mutated venom that's particular to a certain Vampire Coven." She continued, flicking ash off of her cig.

"Lemme guess, the Mondragon's?" Chuck asked and she nodded.

"You got it. They were blatantly attempting to draw as much attention as possible to themselves to provoke the rest of the Vamp community as well as the Upirs and get everyone out in the open. They had a plan to try to gain as many allies as possible and annihilate anyone else who didn't agree with them taking control of all of the covens at large, not to mention they were planning to control the Upirs with the combination of ancient magical artifacts and some of their own abilities. The Mondragon's in particular have always loathed the existence of Upirs. They claim that its because we're unnatural and inferior scum, but I've always thought that they were jealous that we're able to travel in full sunlight as long as we have the right sunglasses." Blue said, stifling a yawn.

"What kind of magical artifacts? What happened to them?" He asked her curiously.

"That's the crux of the issues we're still facing right now. When this war was going on, Malciber Mondragon wasn't the head of his Coven; his Sire Antonio was. Antonio had unearthed some Aztec ceremonial crystals that were used in sacred rituals against their enemies; ancient texts that I've translated say that when used against your adversaries' victory is ensured….at a price. Suffice it to say, Antonio used the crystals to get the upper hand against us, but he was killed by Victor during the final standoff. Once the crystals powers are invoked and the sacrifice to the Aztec Gods are made, their power is supposed to be irreversible, whether the Caster of their powers is living or not. Brethren and Upir alike suffered many casualties that night, but with my abilities… I was able to neutralize the crystals and appease the Aztec deities. There was only one problem after that; one of the crystals had been broken when I was able to retrieve them, and when I reconstructed it later there was a small chip unaccounted for." She explained, laying back into the downy softness of her pillows.

"So, you think the Mondragon's have the missing chip? Where are the other crystals now?" Chuck asked her pensively, wondering what the hell they were going to do with her so weak and close to death; albeit temporarily.

"I don't know where they are, none of us do. We performed a memory binding spell as a fail-safe after we hid them; but that missing chip has always been in the back of my mind. If anyone has it, the Mondragon's do." Blue sighed, her gaze far away as though she were lost in thought.

"And I'm guessing after that, the Brethren had a lot of respect for you, because of what you did?" He surmised.

Blue looked uncharacteristically hesitant in answering him, as though she were afraid of what his reaction might be.

"Victor met with The Covens afterwards to discuss what had happened, as well as to suggest several changes in an effort to reform their rules and practices. As a result, two drastic changes occurred; Upirs were invited to become active members of the Brethren for the first time since its inception, and I was appointed as the impartial Leader of the Brethren; Victor having willingly stepped down to give me the role. Really, it isn't as big of a deal as it sounds; we only convene when there's a serious issue brewing or troublemakers need to be dealt with or sanctioned. I barely think about my role half the time, but now that I officially have a Mate, they'll treat you with the same kind of respect that they show me; or at least they're supposed to, which is why I chewed Victor's ass over the concert night shit. But, you don't have to be involved or do anything if you don't want to, I don't want you to feel obligated because you got stuck with me or something. I know all of my shit is a lot to handle," She said, looking thoroughly drained.

Chuck huffed at her words and the listlessness in her eyes.

"Yeah, you're a handful….." He said, crawling up the bed until he was beside her; trailing his hand along her side, over her stomach, until he palmed a breast in his hand and kissed his way up her collarbone to her neck and finally her lips.

"…..but I wouldn't have it any other way," He husked into her ear, causing a shiver to insinuate along her spine as she reached for him, crashing her lips to his in a sudden desperation to feel him against her again; the connection between them crackling with titillation and mutual want.

He offered his neck to her and she hesitated only a moment before sinking her fangs into him gently, sighing through her nose as the familiar and comforting taste of him flooded her senses and she felt truly home with him there in her arms, peppering her shoulder and neck with needy kisses and mouthings of his own.

The pain in her wrists finally dulled as the nectar of blood combined with the succulent honey of his venom swirled sensually along her tongue and down her throat, the combination of touching him and tasting him enough to drive her over the edge of all of her yearnings. The euphoric combination of love, want, ecstasy, and passion flooding through their bond was likened unto dizzying desperation as they clung to each other; Blue letting forth an aching sob as Chuck's underlying pain at the thought of losing her, even temporarily, made itself known across their link for the first time and her heart clenched painfully.

"_I'm so sorry," _She spoke across the link sadly.

"It's not your fault," He murmured against her, pressing his face into her neck and inhaling her scent as she retracted her fangs and sealed the small punctures with a lave of her tongue.

He sighed against her lost in thought for several minutes before he spoke again.

"You're sure that this crystal chip is involved? They couldn't be controlling Mort in any other way?" He asked, thinking of other magics that they could be using; ones that he would use if it were him.

"Of course there are other ways to control him, but the signs that its probably the missing chip are all there. When Antonio used the crystals before, he was using them for mind control to turn other vampires against us; as many as he could. He probably would've been more successful at the whole thing if the ceremony didn't require a personal effect of the person or persons you were trying to control. He was sending out as many coven members as he could spare to infiltrate the others and steal as many items as they could. Then there's the specific behavior of the vamps that were controlled; they all became fiercely defensive of the Mondragon's while under the crystals effects. They forgot their loyalty to their own covens, their friends, their Sire's, everything! Mort's behavior is identical! It's as though he could give a shit less about his family or me or anyone. All he knows is Imelda right now and that kind of control over anyone is pretty fucking dangerous." Blue sighed, her concern for Mort evident in her voice.

They must have slept through a mutual exhaustion after that, because the next Chuck knew, the sound of the doorbell was waking them, and he cursed as he looked at Blue's cell and noted several missed messages from Victor; and surprisingly enough, Mort.

"Babe! Babe, wake up." He shook her awake and she groaned, sitting up slowly then panicking slightly when she saw signs of bright daylight through the curtains.

"Fuck! What time is it?" Blue gasped, slipping out of bed and wincing as her aching wrists made their protests known once more.

"Half past ten," He replied, helping her pull on her robe just as her phone rang and Mort's name flashed across the screen.

Blue's eyes widened and her hand trembled slightly as she answered the call.

"Hello?" She rasped; her voice still sleep-addled.

"Akishla? I'm sorry, I know that you probably feel like shit right now; but I really need to talk to you." Mort said uneasily.

"Is that you at the door?" She asked, mixed emotions tangling themselves in the pit of her stomach.

"Yeah, can I come in? Just for a few minutes." He said uncertainly.

"Sure. You have your keys, right?" She asked, motioning for Chuck to hold his horses as his eyes flashed red with rage at the thought of Mort in their home after the way he had treated her.

"Yeah, but take your time coming down. I think I need coffee," He muttered, hanging up.

"Charles, you cannot act like anything is different! I don't think he knows what happened or something, you heard how he sounded just now. Not to mention that we have to be so fucking careful if that chip is involved! One wrong move could do irreparable damage or worse! You understand?" She asked desperately, taking his hand in her own and squeezing as though attempting to find comfort through the touch.

The gesture combined with the look in her eyes had him swallowing his anger and attempting to control his temper as he felt it sear to life within him once more.

"Alright, but he better watch his fuckin' mouth today." Chuck acquiesced, silently hoping that he could actually control himself in Mort's presence.

Ever since he could remember his temper was always short and he could hold a grudge longer than Satan himself.

"According to Victor, Imelda headed back home for the time being, but he still has people tailing her. The Mondragon's must think I'm really fucking stupid! Or just too weak and sick to think straight right now. Oh well, joke's on them!" She shrugged, slipping her phone into the pocket of her robe.

"You're sure that it's safe to talk with him right now?" Chuck pressed, the concern in his eyes tugging at her heart.

"If it wasn't safe, the magical wards on the house wouldn't have let him in. Don't worry, I always have precautions in place," Blue assured him as he followed her closely down the stairs regardless, summoning his new-found pyrotechnic abilities to the surface just in case.

He wasn't above roasting his ass if he had to.

"Hey, what's up?" Blue asked casually as they entered the kitchen, trying her best to act as normally and naturally as possible.

Mort was leaned up against the sink, his hands bracing him on either side and his confusion muddled gaze aimed at the floor as he chewed his lip uncertainly.

"'Kish, I uh….. I have this…. Something strange is going on. I can't really remember anything after driving you guys to my house yesterday," He confessed, carding his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Well, we all got pretty hammered," She shrugged, moving passed him to put the kettle on the stove and retrieve the French press from the drainboard.

Gods, she couldn't wait until their new coffee maker arrived!

"And I guess that my phone got pretty hammered too? I'm missing more than a day according to the date on it," Mort countered, pulling it out of his pocket to show her.

Apparently, his intelligence hadn't taken a snooze as he caught her in her lie easily.

"Listen, it's not a big deal. You're going to have to trust me," She replied, coming to stand before him with her arms crossed and her eyes imploring.

Chuck edged closer to them, his skin crawling and his nerves strung taught; his instinct to protect his Mate overshadowing everything else. Blue was far too close to Mort for his liking right now.

"I can remember bits and pieces of things, but its all fucking garbled together in my brain. I'm not sure what's real and what isn't. Did we… did I do anything to piss you off? Did we fight? I just… I don't feel like myself! I've never been this fucked up before. I thought I remembered you crying, but I just-

"Mort, it's fine. Just sit down and relax," She interrupted, taking him by the elbow and guiding him into a chair at the kitchen table.

"It's not fine! Nothing about how this feels is fine. I feel like there's a goddamn hole in my brain or something," Mort argued foggily, slumping in the chair as though he were exhausted.

"Mort, do you trust me?" Blue asked, coming to sit beside him as Chuck changed tactics and moved to Mort's other side closest to the sink, where he pretended to just busy himself with the kettle and French press.

"What kind of question is that? You know I do," Mort replied shakily, searching her eyes desperately for answers.

"Then you have to just let me handle this. I can't give you any answers right now, but hopefully soon I can." She said reassuringly, just as Chuck brought the press over with the coffee and three cups.

Mort seemed to struggle with the thought of staying in the dark; a number of emotions crossing his features like an open book.

"But you're sick right now! Whatever this is, you can't fix it. I don't want you making yourself any weaker," He said, reaching out and covering her hand with his own.

Chuck's chair scraped across the floor as he jumped to his feet, shoulders hunched and feet spread apart like a wild animal preparing to pounce.

"Charles!" Blue hissed in warning, trying to reassure him across their bond that everything was fine.

Mort removed his hand from hers, a stunned expression coming over his face as apparent realization dawned and he leapt to his feet, backing away from the table.

"It's me, isn't it? I'm part of whatever's wrong," He turned to leave, but Blue flitted to his side and stopped him.

"Mort, it's okay. Please stay, for coffee at least?" She asked him, but he shook his head.

"It's probably better if I go. Here," He pulled the keys to the house out of his pocket and plunked them down onto the kitchen table, his eyes meeting Chuck's from across the room.

"Keep her safe," He said tensely to Chuck over her shoulder before turning to leave, but Blue pulled him into a hug; her emotions suddenly getting the better of her.

Mort's phone rang in his pocket.

"Gotta get back to the office Kiddo. Thanks for holding shit together while I was gone; you forgot to log out of the portal at my desk as usual." Mort said with a watery smile; which she slowly returned.

"No worries, I got your back." She shrugged as he made his way back outside with a final wave before shutting the door behind him.

Blue heaved a heavy sigh as she heard his car's engine turn over before he pulled away quickly as though his mere presence could pause a dangerous threat to her. She closed her eyes and swallowed thickly, raking a shaky hand through her hair in irritation before opening her eyes; the expression on her face cold and deadly as she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed Victor.

"Tell me some good news," She said without preamble.

"You're very perceptive as always, I was nearly ready to dial you. Matthew Rhiannon was able to infiltrate a coven meeting; the Mondragon's are using the chip as we suspected and they're planning to converge on the cemetery soon. You are their main target of course, but they're planning on killing Mr. Beecher to weaken you enough to use the crystals against you before turning them on the rest of us. Apparently, possessing the chip can lead you to the rest of them. They're foolish to believe that the crystals could kill an Upir, but Mr. Beecher on the other hand…. Well, I'm not so sure. He is a special case after all," Victor surmised grimly as Blue collapsed onto the couch.

"Gather everyone that you can in Chicago, I don't want those crystals back out on the streets in the Mondragon's hands. Hopefully we were smart enough to hide them in different places and not all lumped together, I need you to get here to perform a reversal on the memory binding spell we used so you can at least recall where they're hidden and get to them before they do. I would do it myself, but I don't think it would work, I just don't have the strength right now." Blue sighed shakily, the pain in her wrists throbbing hard enough to almost make her believe she had a pulse again.

"I've already ordered all of the covens to converge there and I'm on my way to you now; Annabeth is driving me. Forgive the suggestion your Grace, but it sounds as though you need rest. I'll arrive tonight, traffic permitting." Victor replied, sounding concerned as always when it came to her.

"Noted. I'll see you soon," She hung up and tossed her phone on the coffee table in front of her just as Chuck arrived with coffee and blood.

"Thanks." She croaked miserably, reaching for the blood with a trembling hand.

Chuck brushed her hand aside and picked it up for her, urging her to lean back and relax.

"I'm okay," Blue sighed, but even as she spoke a wave of exhaustion overtook her and she sank into the plush sofa gratefully.

"You're full of shit too," Chuck replied without missing a beat; which made her laugh softly in spite of her lack of energy.

She took a sip of blood and stared into the sanguine fluid pensively while Hitchcock roamed the perimeter of the living room, his sightless eyes twitching this way and that as his plumage brushed the wall, mapping out his surroundings.

"Poor fucker," Chuck muttered, a part of him still thinking that it may have been more merciful to shoot him and end his misery.

Hitchcock tentatively hopped his way over to him using the sound of his voice and his sense of smell to find him, letting out a soft squawk when he reached his feet and rubbing his head along Chuck's leg like a cat.

"He knows you're thinking of shooting him again," Blue announced monosyllabically.

"Stay outta my head," He replied, but the gleam in his eyes betrayed him as he studied her face.

She closed her eyes as though preparing to go back to sleep, but her mind was racing through scenarios and solutions; studying the merits of some while discarding others that didn't serve her. She could feel Chuck trying to wiggle his way in to read her, but she blocked him with effort and could feel his frustration with her before he voiced it.

"I know that you have no intention of staying out of this shit and letting me and Victor handle it, so if that's what you're trying to hide, I already know you too fuckin well." He said dismissively, making her eyes shoot open and widen in surprise.

"Victor has a lot of potential, but he's nowhere near my level. You probably figured that out the night of the concert," She sighed, draining the blood from the cup more from necessity than actual want.

"And me? You know what I'm capable of. Well, mostly." He asked, meeting her sleepy violet eyes with his intense blue ones.

Blue reached for him then, pulling him onto the sofa beside her and holding onto him as though he were a lifeline.

"I know that you didn't sign up for any of this, but Victor and the others will need you temporarily after I'm gone; and so will Mort. He's important to me, regardless of what Imelda made him say. Not mention that we cannot risk exposure of our kind to Humans," She sighed, looking at him as though she really thought that he could handle all of this shit.

It had been a very, _very _long time since he had been on the right side of anything. Helping Blue survive the water demon and banish it had been just that; helping his Mate and ensuring her survival. Now, they were nearly out of time, and no matter what he did, she would suffer through her suicide again and he'd be stuck here without her for who knew how long until she awoke on the other side of it once more.

He would definitely need a goddamn shower after being such a goody-fucking-two shoes.

"I'll do whatever I can to help while you're out of commission, I promise." He relented, marveling inwardly about how much love could change a person.

Especially loving the _right _person.

A quarter of an hour later, they were in her warded sacred room in the basement gathering what Victor would need for a reversal on the memory binding spell.

"This is everything he needs and the instructions are in this scroll," Blue said, replacing the containers they had picked ingredients out of in their proper places on the shelves behind them.

"Sounds good. Let's hope he gets here while we're still young," Chuck grumbled, his patience for the old Vamp wearing thin.

She stood then, brushing her hands off on her pants and sighing, she pulled a small box off of the top shelf which was out of his line of sight due to his height.

"It's nearly dusk, so he'll be here soon. I'm really sorry but I need you to trust me too," She said softly, flitting just beyond the magical barrier of the room.

"Blue! Goddamn it, what the fuck are you up to now?" He growled, trying to force his way beyond the barrier to no avail.

"Just sit tight for five minutes, you'll be out of there as soon as I'm gone. I love you," She murmured before flitting away amidst the sound of Chuck's cursing.


End file.
